Vestas has received the first order for Vestas PowerPlus™ solutions, a new range of technology upgrades launched to the market last month. The order was placed by key customer EDP Renewables (EDPR) to upgrade the production performance on hundreds of wind turbines in their United States fleet.
“EDP Renewables and Vestas have been partners for many years and we are excited to take this partnership to the next level by incorporating this new Vestas PowerPlus™ offering into a portion of our Vestas fleet.” Brian Hayes, Executive Vice President of Operations, EDP Renewables North America. “We always seek to have our fleet running at peak performance with maximum efficiency and Vestas has been fantastic in delivering the technology that allows us to do just that.”
“Signing our first order for Vestas PowerPlus™ solutions so quickly after the official launch demonstrates that there is strong customer demand for this product,” explains Chris Brown, President of Vestas’ sales and service division in the United States and Canada. “Since the launch we have seen considerable interest from the market. The U.S. market is driven by annual energy production and price, and we expect sales of Vestas PowerPlus™ to be strong.”
Vestas PowerPlus™ consists of three product offerings:
• Power Uprate (V82-1.65 MW, V90-1.8 MW and V100-1.8 MW);
• Extended Cut Out (V90-3.0 MW, V100-1.8/2.0 MW); and,
• Aerodynamic Upgrades (V82-1.65 MW).
Power Uprate is a modification to the turbine control parameters that allows the wind turbines to increase their maximum power output from 1.8MW up to 2.0MW (V82: 1.65MW up to 1.8MW). The result is an increased Annual Energy Production (AEP) (generally 1.0-4.0%).
Extended Cut Out is a modification of the turbine control parameters that allows turbines to capture more wind at higher speeds by extending the maximum wind speed limit from 25 m/s up to 30 m/s. The result is an increase in AEP (generally 0.5-2.0%).
The Aerodynamic Upgrades are Vortex Generators, which are a cost-effective solution using small fins that optimise air flow over the blades to improve the aerodynamics and increase AEP of a wind power plant (generally up to 0.8%).