GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X prototype deployed in Rotterdam, has now been operating for two years, making it the first 10-plus MW offshore wind turbine to achieve this milestone.

The prototype was first commissioned in November 2019 at 12MW, which at the time signalled a big leap forward for the industry. Since then GE Renewable Energy has used its expertise in operating and optimising the performance of wind turbines to uprate the prototype to 13MW and then to 14MW.

Over the past two years, the Haliade-X has received multiple certifications, including the 12MW, 13MW, 13.6MW and Typhoon certifications. The GE Renewable Energy team has also started certification measurements on the Haliade-X 14MW, which is the first offshore wind turbine in the world to operate at 14MW.

One of these turbines can generate up to 74GWh of gross annual energy production, saving up to 52,000 metric tons of C0₂, which is the equivalent of the emissions generated by 11,000 vehicles in one year. All the electricity generated by the Haliade-X prototype is purchased by Eneco, a Dutch utility company.

Jan Kjaersgaard, CEO of Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy, said: “We are pleased to announce that our Haliade-X prototype has reached its two-year operational milestone. Over the two years, we have learned a lot from operating the prototype intensively in a windy and harsh environment.

“We continue to innovate and develop our Haliade-X technology, and with 5.6GW of customer commitments so far, it is clear that we are addressing our customers’ needs, enabling them to deliver clean energy to consumers around the world.”

The Dogger Bank A and B wind farm off the north-east coast of England will feature 190 Haliade-X turbines and together with Dogger Bank C, is due to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world upon completion. GE Renewable Energy will also supply 62 Haliade-X turbines for Vineyard Wind 1, the first utility-scale offshore wind installation in the USA.

GE Renewable Energy is committed to enable the energy transition. As part of that responsibility, the business is focused on supplying and maintaining a global fleet of renewable energy assets, helping reduce the cost of renewable energy, ensuring grid resiliency, efficiency, and reliability, and making renewable energy function in a more dispatchable way.

The company also supports the energy transition by pursuing a strategy that reflects a commitment to sustainable, circular design.