NEWS 03.23.11

Northern Power 2.3: Benefits of Permanent Magnet Direct Drive Wind Turbines

The Northern Power 2.3 MW permanent magnet direct drive machine is based on the 100 kW Northern Power 100.

“Our dynamometer testing with the US Department of Energy’s NREL facility and field result from our installed prototype turbine have consistently exceeded expectations. We are pleased to commercialize our turbine with a 2.3 MW power rating,” says Troy Patton, President of Utility Wind at Northern Power Systems.

Talking to Renewable Energy Focus at EWEA 2011 last week in Brussels, Patton said the 100 kW wind turbine has a 98% fleet-wide availability despite often being installed in remote areas in clusters of 1-3 wind turbines.

He said the 2.3 MW wind turbine can run at fully rated power at high altitudes and high temperatures. The wind turbines can also withstand colder climates, with some of the 100 kW wind turbines installed in Alaska.

With the 2.3 MW offering, Northern Power Systems believes it has an improved maintenance profile over many of its geared competitors. All the converters are up tower, and there is room for service men up tower making servicing easy. A modular design also aids O&M tasks.

With fewer moving parts and slower torque in the nacelle, Patton also believes the 2.3 MW wind turbine will see less fatigue than its geared competitors. With a geared wind turbine, the shaft spins 100 times faster – needed to get the generator spinning at 1800 rpm, he explained. With the PMDD wind turbine, the parts are bigger and can therefore go 100 times slower.

This difference in rotational speeds means it takes a geared wind turbine only 3.5 months to reach the same fatigue level as a PMDD machine would see in 20 years, Patton added.

 

Click here to read the full story by Renewable Energy Focus.