Gamesa targets offshore turbine in China by 2013

CHINA: Gamesa’s new chief executive for China Jose Antonio Miranda has said he hopes to introduce the company’s upcoming offshore wind turbine to the country within the next two years.

by James Quilter 7 September 2011

The G11X is based on the G10X 4.5MW onshore turbine

The G11X 5MW wind turbine is currently under development at Gamesa’s research and development centre at Chesapeake Bay, Virginia.

Last year the company announced it plans spend €150 million on developing its offshore capacity. A prototype of the G11X will be available in Q4 2012 and enter mass production in 2013.

However, the turbine is likely to be manufactured first in the UK where it will be targeted at the country’s 33GW Round 3 plans. As part of this, Gamesa announced it would be basing its global offshore division in the UK last year.

Gamesa is giving little away about the G11X but has conceded it will be based around the innovative, lightweight, medium-speed G10X-4.5MW onshore turbine introduced in the first half of 2010.

Notable features include a 250-tonne top-head mass, segmented rotor blades, a 128-metre rotor and advanced transport and installation logistics features.

The G11X will be Gamesa’s first offshore turbine. The manufacturer has said it is likely to be superseded by the G14X 6-7MW, which is set to be launched in 2014.