The German wind power market leader is currently expanding its product portfolio by adding the E-82/3 MW for strong-wind sites (IEC IA and IIA) and the E-101/3 MW wind turbines for inland sites (up to IEC II A).
ENERCON intends to use these new models to satisfy the growing demand for wind turbines in this capacity range. “We think it will be this capacity class above all that will exploit the European wind energy potential of 80 GW of rated power to be installed by the year 2013,” says Stefan Lütkemeyer, ENERCON Sales Manager.
While the prototype of the E-82/3 MW has already proven itself in practical use, the first E-101/3 MW will be installed later this year during the summer. Series manufacturing is scheduled to start in 2011.
At this year’s fair, ENERCON will again exhibit in hall 27 and put a model of the E-82/3 MW on display. For this new wind turbine type, particular emphasis was placed on maximum energy yield and optimum power quality.
This wind turbine guarantees high yields particularly at strong-wind sites. The design is characterised by more advanced cast iron components – main carrier, stator shield, etc. – as well as by an optimised cooling system. The water cooling system allows the WEC to operate at a rated power of 3 MW while largely maintaining the component sizes as well as the transport and manufacturing dimensions of the E-82/2 MW turbine.
The ENERCON booth will again offer several exciting presentations. Topics include latest developments in ENERCON’s WEC technology, grid integration, the wind energy market in Italy, as well as service offerings in the framework of the ENERCON PartnerKonzept.
A programme with speakers from ENERCON’s company management will start at 11 o’clock on Thursday. Vision, the spirit of exploration, and the courage to innovate stand for ENERCON’s success.
Enercon stand at the Hannover Messe from 19 – 23 April 2010 (hall 27, stand J15/F14).
The new ENERCON rotor blade concept sets new standards with regard to yield, noise emission, and stress minimisation. Because of their modified design, the blades also use the inner part of the rotor area and considerably increase the energy yield. The new rotor blades are also less susceptible to turbulence and provide an even flow along the entire length of the blade profile.
The blade tips have also been optimised with regard to noise emission and energy yield. Turbulences that occur at the blade tips due to overpressure and underpressure are effectively removed from the rotor plane. The entire length of the blade is therefore utilised without any loss of energy caused by turbulences.
ENERCON rotor blades are manufactured with a vacuum infusion process using the so-called sandwich method. Glass fibre mats placed in the mould are vacuum-impregnated with resin via a pump and a hose system. This method eliminates air pockets in the laminate.
The drive system for the ENERCON wind energy converters is based on a simple principle: Fewer rotating components reduce mechanical stress and at the same time increase the technical service life of the equipment. Maintenance and service costs for the wind turbine are lower (fewer wearing parts, no gear oil change, etc.) and operating costs are reduced.
The rotor hub and annular generator are directly connected to each other as a fixed unit without gears. The rotor unit is mounted on a fixed axle, the so-called axle pin. Compared to conventional geared systems that have a large number of bearing points in a moving drive train, ENERCON’s drive system has only two slow-moving roller bearings. The reason for this is the low speed of the direct drive.
A few years ago only the rotor hub was made of cast steel, nowadays the use of modern spheroidal graphite cast iron makes it possible to manufacture other major components such as blade adaptors, axle pins and main carriers with this process.
ENERCON carries out advanced development of cast components in close collaboration with the foundries. All cast components are drawn on a 3D CAD system and calculated using the finite element method to test strain increases at critical points. During the entire prototype phase, the designer tests and optimizes performance. In order to guarantee the identification and traceability of each cast component when the goods are received at ENERCON, each part is given a specific barcode, from which the serial number can be obtained in the event of quality matters for example. Cast components are not released for further steps in ENERCON’s manufacturing process until comprehensive quality testing has taken place, thus guaranteeing high ENERCON quality standards in the cast component supply sector.
