Wind energy Gamesa seeks to reserve four spots for its wind turbines at IREC?s ZÈFIR Test Station offshore wind farm

Gamesa, a global leader in wind energy, has signed a framework technology cooperation agreement with the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), seeking to reserve space at IREC’s offshore wind energy laboratory, ZÈFIR Test Station, for the subsequent installation of Gamesa turbines.

Specifically, Gamesa has asked for four spaces at the research station: at an initial stage, two spots will be for anchored turbines, while at a second stage; two spots will be for floating turbine systems.

The ZÈFIR Test Station project will be an experimental offshore wind energy lab off the coast of Tarragona, Spain, devoted to testing offshore wind turbines and related infrastructure in a deep-water environment.

ZÈFIR Test Station will consist of a total of 12 turbine spaces, developed in two stages:

* The first stage will involve the installation of a maximum of four turbines anchored to the seabed approximately 3.5 kilometres off the coast, with combined installed capacity not to exceed 20 MW;
* The second phase calls for a maximum of eight floating turbines, installed some 30 kilometres off the coast, with combined installed capacity of up to 50 MW.

Gamesa makes further progress on its offshore strategy

"This agreement represents further technological progress in our offshore strategy and provides a new opportunity for testing and validating the prototypes Gamesa has been developing in recent months", said José Antonio Malumbres, Gamesa’s Chief Technology Officer.

Gamesa is engaged in the design and development of two families of offshore turbines (the G11X-5.0 MW and the G14X, with unit capacity of 6 MW-7 MW) based on the proven and validated technologies used in its G10X-4.5 MW machine. The initial two prototypes of the G11X-5.0 MW system will undergo testing in the last quarter of 2012, with a pre-series set to land on the market in 2013.

Additionally, Gamesa has a venture with Newport News Shipbuilding, a unit of Northrop Grumman Corporation, the leading US defence company and the largest US shipbuilder, to develop the first offshore prototype of the Gamesa G11X-5.0 MW series: site selection in the US, permitting and the construction, installation and final commissioning of a prototype.

Meanwhile, the G14X (6 MW-7 MW) offshore turbine, pre-series of which may be market-ready in 2014, will address medium- and long-term growth in wind turbine demand through the development of new generations of higher-capacity offshore turbines.

www.gamesa.es