The turbine was erected in Gothenburg in cooperation with Goteborg Energi in 2011 with plans to roll out offshore operations involving manufacturing and design facilities for the 4.1MW in Norway, Sweden, UK and Germany.
Goteborg Energi bought the turbine from GE shortly after it was installed.
As GE gradually rolled back these plans, Goteborg Energi was left with the sole prototype. Questions remained about what it would do once the five-year operations and maintenance agreement with the manufacturer lapses in 2016.
But the Swedish Energy company has now confirmed to “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç that it intends to continue operating the turbine, known locally as Big Glenn, for its lifetime.
"We have no plans to dismantle or sell the turbine at the moment. We expect that it will operate normally during its lifetime," said a spokesperson.
However, Goteborg is still to decide whether to extend the GE contract or turn to a third party to supply replacement components.
The turbine was developed as a scaled-up version of Scanwind's 3.5MW turbine. GE bought the Norwegian turbine manufacturer in 2009 for EUR 15 million, prompting speculation it was developing offshore plans.
At the EWEA 2014 conference in Barcelona last month, GE vice president for renewables Anne McEntee dealt a further blow to any chance the company would venture into the offshore market, saying it doesn't make economic sense.
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