Launched in February 2013, the Nordex N117/3000 and N100/3300 Generation Delta turbines now have received all design evaluation certificates in accordance with the international IEC standard (Design Evaluation Conformity Statement, DECS) on schedule. As well as this, Nordex has already installed the first three next-generation turbines in Germany and Denmark and is thus fully in line with the schedule which it announced.
As part of type certification, the independent experts at TÜV Nord critically reviewed the design of all of Nordex’s turbine configurations in all tower, climate and frequency versions. These certificates provide independent proof of the quality of the turbines.
Thus, the N117/3000 with tower heights of 91 and 120 metres is certified for medium wind speeds (IEC2), while the 141-metre version mounted on a hybrid tower is certified for low-wind locations of up to 7.5 m/s (IEC3). Certificates for hub heights of 75 and 100 metres have been received for the N100/3000 (IEC1) strong-wind turbine. In addition, all turbines have been awarded DIBt type approval for the German market. Accordingly, all relevant documents required to apply for building permits are now available.
As part of the certification process, Nordex worked with key suppliers to test numerous components fitted to the Generation Delta turbines in test stands. This included tests on the generator/transformer and transmission as well as static testing of the rotor blades. In addition, dynamic rotor blade testing, which simulates fatigue loads over a 20-year operating period, has been completed for the N100/3300.
Just a few months after the presentation of the turbines in spring, Nordex has furthermore assembled and installed the first Generation Delta turbines in line with the schedule for the development project. Thus, an N117/3000 mounted on top of a 91-metre steel tube tower and an N100/3300 with a hub height of 100 metres are to be connected to the grid at Janneby wind farm in Schleswig-Holstein in the near future. Preparations for the measurement and validation program for type certification are proceeding at full swing at the wind farm. In addition, an N100/3300 turbine with a 75-metre hub height has already been installed at a strong-wind site at the Risø/DTU wind testing field operated by the National Laboratory in Bøvlingbjerg, Denmark, directly on the North Sea coast. It is being tested under very strong wind conditions at the site.
This is to be followed this year by the installation of two N117/3000 turbines - one with a hub height of 91 metres and the other with a hub height of 120 metres - in Raahe, Finland, under the contract which Nordex was awarded in February 2013 by its customer Raahen Tuulienergia Oy. In winter 2013, the company will also be mounting an N117/3000 on a 141-metre hybrid tower at the Köhlbrandhöft site in the port of Hamburg. This means that over the next few months Generation Delta turbines will be operating at all available tower heights.
Nordex plans to commence series production of Generation Delta at the beginning of 2014. The first major project under contract encompassing 24 cold-climate versions of the N117/3000 turbine plus anti-icing system is to be installed in Northern Sweden in summer 2014.