A 14-MW Version Of A Powerful Wind Turbine Will Go To The World’s Largest Wind Farm

GE Renewable Energy was named the preferred turbine supplier for Dogger Bank C, the third phase of what is set to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world upon completion in 2026. GE will also supply turbines for phases A and B of the wind farm.

The Haliade-X was originally designed to produce 12 megawatts. Even at that level, a single rotation of the turbine could generate enough power for one U.K. household for two days. But the turbine technology has been performing so well that the version headed to Dogger Bank C will be capable of generating up to 14 MW, while the machines for Dogger Bank A and B will be rated at 13 MW. “In doing so, this unique project will both continue to build on the U.K.’s leadership in offshore wind and serve as a showcase for innovative technology that is helping to provide cleaner, renewable energy,” says John Lavelle, president and CEO of Offshore Wind at GE Renewable Energy.

In June 2019, the U.K. became the first large economy to pass a law limiting “all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.” And earlier this week, the government unveiled a plan for the transition in a new energy white paper. It stated that the path leads “through our world-beating commitment to deliver 40 GW of offshore wind by 2030,” which is “enough to power every home in the country.”

Part of that total will come from Dogger Bank, an ancient submerged land bridge that connected the U.K. and continental Europe some 12,000 years ago. The Dogger Bank wind farm will be located 130 kilometers off the northeast coast of England in the North Sea. A joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor, the project will be capable of generating 3.6 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power the equivalent of up to 6 million homes each year when finished.

In December 2019, Time magazine selected the Haliade-X as one of the best inventions of the year. This past June an independent global certification body based in Norway issued GE a provisional type certification that validates that the turbine meets the highest safety and quality standards. “We’re delighted to be working with GE Renewable Energy on all three phases of our development, as the first wind farm in the world to install their innovative and record-breaking Haliade-X turbine technology,” says Steve Wilson, Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s project director at SSE Renewables. “Together with GE we are continuing to lead the way on innovation in the offshore wind industry.”

The Haliade-X was also previously selected for offshore wind projects in the U.S. It will power Vineyard Wind, an 800-megawatt wind farm near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, and wind farms off the coast of Maryland and New Jersey.

GE Renewable Energy will also supply the power transmission technology to bring onshore electricity from yet another wind farm at Dogger Bank through a 220-kilometer subsea cable.Image credit: GE Renewable Energy. Infographic credit: GE Reports. (Click on the infographic to enlarge it.) Top image: The Haliade-X prototype in Rotterdam. Image credit: GE Renewable Energy,