The company will participate in the industry exhibition using the theme, Gamesa Innovates: Evolution of a Technology, detailing the history and development of a broad range of platforms and wind turbines, from the Gamesa G5X-850 kW to its latest technological innovation, the Gamesa G10X-4.5 MW.
Innovation is a cornerstone of Gamesa’s business, and the company is renowned for its technology for the development of more efficient and better customised products for use in a range of markets.
Gamesa has spent more than 200 million euros on research and development (R&D) in the past five years, ranking it among the leading European corporate R&D (*) investors. The company has seven R&D and innovation centres in Spain, Denmark, the United States and China and is involved in the world’s largest wind energy projects.
Gamesa’s EWEC overview of its technological progress will culminate in the presentation of the Gamesa G10X-4.5 MW platform and the G128-4.5 MW wind turbine, the company’s most ambitious project ever and the land-based wind energy industry’s most powerful product to date.
Entirely designed and manufactured in Spain, the Gamesa G10X-4.5 MW’s development equates to five years of operation: a five-year validation programme, testing of the system’s 350 components, 75 certified laboratories worldwide and validation of all components and sub-components. Gamesa is currently engaged in the marketing and installation of the first pre-series of this product. The company plans a simultaneous industrial market launch on three continents.
The Gamesa G10X-4.5 MW has a 128-diameter rotor and a 120-metre hybrid tower made of cement and steel. With installed capacity of 4.5 MW, the wind turbines offers lower energy costs and ease of transport and installation similar to that of a 2.0 MW turbine.
The Gamesa G128-4.5 MW offers technological innovations not seen on the market until now, based on design and validation concepts comparable to those in industries such as aeronautics:
Innoblade®. Design of a sectional blade that can be transported in a manner similar to that of 2.0 MW wind turbines, with new aerodynamic features which minimise noise and maximise output. The Innoblade’s pioneering structure in a unique combination of materials substantially reduces blade weight;
Gamesa is ranked 345 among 1,000 European companies with the highest investment in R&D, according to the "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard".
Multismart®. This wind turbine control system uses the data it collects to individually modulate the pitch of each blade, reducing vibration and lessening the load borne by some of its components by up to 30%; § ConcreTower. This hybrid wind turbine tower, specially designed for this new platform, is made of steel and concrete, generating lower tower costs and making transport easier;
CompacTrain®. A drive train designed for the Gamesa G128-4.5 MW: a semi-integrated main shaft in a two-stage gearbox with mid-speed range output. The integrated design makes the drive train more compact, with fewer components;
Flexifit®. Flexifit is a crane coupled to the nacelle that makes it easier to assemble and service the unit by hoisting and lowering the nacelle’s key components, such as the drive train, generator and hub. This feature cuts costs.
GridMate®. A permanent magnet synchronous generator using a full converter, which helps to guarantee compliance with the most demanding grid connection regulations.
The energy generated by each Gamesa G10X-4.5 MW wind turbine helps to produce an environmentally-benign wind power supply by preventing harmful atmospheric emissions. Each turbine is capable of generating enough electricity to power 3,169 households for a year, replace nearly 1,000 tonnes of petroleum equivalent (TPE) annually and avoid 6,750 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 emissions per year.
Mega system: a forecasting service
Gamesa will also highlight at EWEC 2010 its Mega system, a high-tech solution to provide customers with detailed information on conditions at their wind farms.
Gamesa has spent more than seven years investing in wind pattern forecasting and wind farm output modelling systems, as monitoring and forecasting are key elements of comprehensive wind farm management. Accurate assessment of conditions at wind farms helps to enhance turbines’ performance and ensure that the energy they generate is better integrated into electricity markets.
Gamesa specializes in sustainable energy technologies, mainly wind power. Gamesa is the market leader in Spain and is positioned among the most important wind turbine manufacturers in the world. Gamesa has installed over 16,000 MW of its main product lines in twenty countries spread out over four continents. The annual equivalent of this production amounts to more than 3.45 million tons of petroleum (TEP) per year and prevents the emission into the atmosphere of more than 24 million tons of CO2 per year.
With a portfolio of almost 23,000 MW of wind power in different stages throughout Europe, America and Asia, Gamesa is also well positioned as one of the world’s most important companies in wind farm development.
