Wind Turbine SeaTwirl
Company SeaTwirl has announced the launch of a revolutionary wind turbine model S2 next year. The device record for this class size will be set in the sea near the municipality of Bokn in Norway. The power of the wind turbine should be at least 1 MW, but this is only the beginning – in the project company has the device power up to 30 MW.
SeaTwirl develops and tests a vertical wind turbines in 2012. The main advantage of this design is that the generator and all the important nodes located at the waterline, and not surprisingly the height on the top of the tower as the models with a horizontal pattern. It is ten times easier and cheaper installation and maintenance, though, because no need to use expensive offshore cranes.
Wind Turbine SeaTwirl
Another plus is that the S2 — floating system with anchor fastener, so it can be installed in deep water. Such wind turbines do not create a Wake, so they can be put close to each other. For the vertical structure of the wind direction does not matter, there is no need of a complex system of reversal of the tower. The center of gravity is located below the water level, so the wind is very stable even in stormy weather. S2 reaches a height of 55 m, the underwater balancer drops another 80 m. the Generator is capable of withstanding wind load at 50 m/s, but the optimal mode of operation — with winds of up to 25 m/s. the lifetime is estimated at 25-30 years, the cost of the energy produced by the standard LCoE is calculated as $50 per 1 MWh. In theory, the use of such wind turbines will broaden the application potential of the sea vast areas. In practice, however, there are big doubts about the scalability of these devices – a wind turbine of 30 MW will exceed the size of all currently existing offshore structures.
