Offshore design to be tested at Rudong inter-tidal demo site
The first prototype of a 5.5MW offshore wind turbine designed and built by a subsidiary of Dongfang Electric is headed for the Rudong inter-tidal wind farm in China’s Jiangsu province.
Production of the doubly-fed prototype was completed last summer, and has since been undergoing testing. It left Dongfang Turbine Company’s production base in Sichuan province earlier this week.
The prototype has passed a full power test and low-voltage ride at the production plant, explained Wang Jianlu, chief engineer of Dongfang Turbine. The turbine was developed on a 6MW platform. Its 68m DF140A blades were also developed and produced by Dongfang Turbine.
The blades passed a static force certification test at Tianjin SGS Wind Energy Technical Center on 16 March, Windpower Offshore can report.
Chinese turbine manufacturers are racing to commercialise 5MW+ turbines designed specifically for the country’s emerging offshore wind market. To date, Sinovel and United Power have made 6MW turbines, with Goldwind also developing a 6MW direct-drive permanent magnetic design. Sinovel, XEMC and CSIC Haizhuang have made 5MW turbines. CSIC Haizhuang's design is also being tested at Rudong.
