The first offshore wind turbine installed in Spain has been commissioned this morning. It is also Gamesa's first offshore prototype, with 5 MW of nominal power and installed at the Arinaga Quay in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands).
This turbine, with a rotor diameter of 128 meters and a total height of 154 meters, will generate enough energy to power 7,500 households a year.
The commissioning of the turbine is a key step in its certification, foreseen in the upcoming months.
Gamesa began the installation of the tower, the nacelle and three blades of the wind turbine in mid-April, with the assembly of the tower, with a total height of 90 meters and manufactured by Windar (joint venture between Gamesa and Daniel Alonso). The nacelle, manufactured at the Tauste (Zaragoza) factory, is 12.5 metres long, 4 metres tall and wide and weighs 72 tonnes.
After the tower hoist, began assembly of the three blades, 62.5 meters long each and 15 tons in weight (the longest produced and transported in Spain), which ended in May. Since then, the company has developed electrical installation works and connection to the network, prior to its implementation.
Gamesa 5 MW offshore platform is equipped with the technology Gamesa has proven and validated in its 4.5 MW system, plus the know-how and experience acquired during the 4.5 MW's rollout. The first turbine of this new platform, Gamesa G128-5.0 MW has a modular and redundant design, which ensures reliability and maximises energy output, optimizing the cost of energy.
Gamesa in late 2012 obtained design certification for its offshore turbine from independent organisation DNV. The DNV endorsement heralded a major leap forward in the system's development, as a guarantee of the turbine's launch, commercial rollout and manufacture in coming years.