Watch out Aerogenerator X team, the Azimut mega-wind turbine project is hot on your trail.
The British 10MW Aerogenerator X is currently the world’s largest wind turbine under development, but dozens of companies and research centres from Spain have banded together with the goal of producing a 15MW offshore wind turbine using 100% Spanish technology.
The project, dubbed Azimut, involves 11 Spanish companies and 22 research centres and incorporates some of the biggest names in the wind industry including Acciona Windpower. Project coordinator for Azimut, Gamesa, says the project aims to establish the technological groundwork for the development of such a turbine by around 2020.
During the project, Gamesa will take charge of offshore wind energy capture related activities, Acciona Windpower for electricity conversion technologies; Alstom Wind will manage the marine structure and substructure elements; Acciona Energía will oversee construction, operation and maintenance of the turbines at offshore sites; with Iberdrola Renovables managing integration of offshore wind energy export to the mains electricity grid.
Azimut was given the nod by Spain’s Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) and will receive some funding through the Cenit (National Strategic Consortium in Technical Research) Programme. The Azimut wind turbine project will involve a total investment of 25 million euros over the next four years and will be co-financed by the companies involved.
Gamesa has installed more than 19,000 MW of wind power in over 20 countries. The company says this capacity is equivalent to the energy in more than 4 million tons of petroleum per year and prevents the emission of about 27 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
