Gamesa has started the permitting process for the installation of its first offshore prototype, the G128-5.0MW (50 Hz), at Arinaga Quay in Gran Canary Island (Canary Islands, Spain).
Gamesa expects to begin the installation of this prototype in the second quarter of 2013, with a view to achieving certification in the following months, to permit the installations of the pre-series turbines in an offshore wind farm towards the end of 2013 or early 2014. Following extensive research to identify suitable sites, Gamesa selected Arinaga on the basis of technical considerations for certification, wind conditions in the region, market performance and customer investment plans and its forecast. The installation of the Gamesa’s first offshore prototype in Europe freezes the offshore prototype project in Virginia (USA), in Cape Charles. The process to design this offshore turbine in the R&D centre in Virginia has been fulfilled, but the prospects for the US offshore market and its regulatory conditions in this segment so far do not justify the next step, the installation of a prototype in the US. As a result, the Offshore Wind Technology Centre, opened jointly with Newport News Shipbuilding, will wind down at the end of the year as the design of the G11X- 5.0MW offshore platform is completed.
Gamesa expects to begin the installation of this prototype in the second quarter of 2013, with a view to achieving certification in the following months, to permit the installations of the pre-series turbines in an offshore wind farm towards the end of 2013 or early 2014. Following extensive research to identify suitable sites, Gamesa selected Arinaga on the basis of technical considerations for certification, wind conditions in the region, market performance and customer investment plans and its forecast. The installation of the Gamesa’s first offshore prototype in Europe freezes the offshore prototype project in Virginia (USA), in Cape Charles. The process to design this offshore turbine in the R&D centre in Virginia has been fulfilled, but the prospects for the US offshore market and its regulatory conditions in this segment so far do not justify the next step, the installation of a prototype in the US. As a result, the Offshore Wind Technology Centre, opened jointly with Newport News Shipbuilding, will wind down at the end of the year as the design of the G11X- 5.0MW offshore platform is completed.
