Alstom announces R&D cooperation with Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland at the inauguration of its first wind farm in the Nordic region

Installed in Lappeenranta, Eastern Finland, the Muukko wind farm (21 MW) was inaugurated yesterday by the Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs, Mr Jan Vapaavuori. This wind farm, developed by TuuliTapiola ky and TuuliSaimaa Oy, is equipped with seven Alstom’s 3.0 MW ECO 110 wind turbines suited for medium to low wind sites. Thanks to its Cold Climate Version, this turbine perfectly suits Nordic winter conditions.

Alongside this inauguration Alstom signed a Letter of Intent for a Research & Development (R&D) cooperation agreement for two years with Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), TuuliSaimaa and TuuliMuukko. This agreement is the perfect framework to deepen the understanding of how wind turbines respond under arctic climate conditions to further improve operations, performance and reliability. The research teams will also study the application of advanced ice detection sensors.

In this agreement, LUT – the biggest research and education unit in the Finnish energy sector – will provide academic expertise through