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Statoil's wind farm at Havøygavlen will test a Siemens-designed gearless turbine, a next generation in turbine technology expected to reduce operation and maintenance costs for offshore wind power, the Norwegian company said on 8 September 2010.
The land-based trial is happening at Havøygavlen, the world's northernmost wind farm.
Statoil operational manager for wind power Sverre Trollnes said engineering work was able to reduce by half the number of moving parts on the turbine.
'If an offshore wind turbine breaks down, there are many factors contributing to increased downtime compared with a land-based turbine,' Trollnes said.
According to Statoil, the Siemens gearless turbine will reduce maintenance by 20%. Siemens is manufacturing 10 wind turbines for trials, and one unit will go be tested at Havøygavlen. Statoil aims to qualify the technology for offshore use through the land-based trial. Starting 15 September, the turbine will be installed on a vacant space in the Havøygavlen wind farm and be fully integrated with the other turbines, and will therefore not require a new concession. Once testing and commissioning are complete, the turbine will become operational in 4Q 2010.
The trial project will have a Technology Qualification Period (TQP) of 17,000 hours, equivalent to two years' operation.
Trollnes said the Havøygavlen site, where Statoil has operated a wind farm for several years, is a demanding one, with an average annual wind speed exceeding 9m/second. The wind farm's annual production varies between 60 and 90 gigawatt hours. 'It will be a good benchmark for how this turbine will behave,' he said.
If the turbine qualifies, it can be considered for use in the Dogger Bank wind farm, led by industry consortium Forewind, in which Statoil is a partner.
'By taking part in Siemens' certification program, we are learning more about this technology, and can eliminate teething troubles. It's also far easier to influence the design at an early stage,' Trollnes said.
