Leading wind turbine manufacturers present innovations and tons of large exhibits in Hamburg

Hamburg, 29 April 2004 - Only two more weeks till the opening of the WindEnergy 2004 – International Trade Fair in Hamburg, which runs from 11 to 14 May. The major wind turbine manufacturers will make a big impact with their huge nacelles and machines – and they have brought plenty more innovations with them, too. They will provide information about new plant and further developments, independent certification and their activities in new markets. And the WindEnergy 2004 itself will be breaking records – there will be more than 320 exhibitors from 18 nations showing their products and services at the trade fair. That is over 30% more exhibitors compared with the first event in 2002, which featured 240 companies from 16 nations. Some 15 000 trade visitors are expected from 20 countries.

The manufacturer AN Windenergie (Hall 7) will be showing the nacelle of its 2.3 MW/82 system live at a fair for the first time; this system is now also available as a variable-speed variant (2.3 MW/82-VS, Variable Speed). “This variable-speed operation also means that we can adjust the noise level,” says AN Sales Manager Heiko Weckendrup. That is an important development to cope with tougher space restrictions and noise limits. The first 2.3 MW system was installed two years ago, and following trial operations it is now marketed by AN together with its Danish partner Bonus Energy.

Another manufacturer, GE Energy (Hall 4), reports the most successful wind energy year in its company history in 2003 – GE installed over 1400 megawatts last year (more than 800 MW of that in the USA), making it the “Number Two” in the world market. In Hamburg, GE will show the complete nacelle of its new 2x. MW generation, available with different swept areas and with rated outputs between 2.3 and 2.7 MW. GE will have erected the prototype of its 2.5 MW system in the ECN test field in the Netherlands by the beginning of the fair.

REpower AG has started on the foundation work for its new 5 megawatt system 5M (the world’s first 5 MW wind turbine) near Brunsbüttel; a film of this will be shown at the fair stand (Hall 6). This involves driving a total of 40 concrete piles into the ground, each with a length of 24 metres; the foundations require 1300 cubic metres of concrete, and the structure comprises 180 tonnes of steel. The manufacturer intends to proceed with engineering installation in July or August. The record-breaking rotor blades, each with a length of 61.5 metres, have just been completed by LM Glasfiber A/S in Denmark. The exhibits at the REpower stand in the multi-megawatt class include the nacelle and hub of its 2 MW flagship MM82/2MW. This extraordinary exhibit weighs around 90 tonnes.

DeWind GmbH (Hall 6) will provide information on new projects at WindEnergy. Alongside production in the UK, there will be a new manufacturing plant on the European continent. At present DeWind has its production plant in Loughborough, UK. At the same time, production know-how is also being built up in Pilsen, in the Czech Republic. “We have just been awarded a contract for 30 D8 wind turbines in Austria, each with an output of 2 MW”, reports DeWind press spokesman Dr. Walter Delabar. “The turbines are to be erected next year. Production in the neighbouring Czech Republic makes a lot of sense.” The company already has its own service stations in the Austrian Burgenland region.

Nordex AG (Hall 7) is also using the trade fair to provide information on innovations. Thus the onshore turbine N90 with rated output of 2.3 MW and a rotor diameter of 90 metres has now been completely certified. “That applies for machine variants with a tower height of up to 105 metres (in this case lattice mast height), giving a rotor tip height of some 150 metres”, reports Press Officer Ralf Peters. “We have not given up the idea of the 5 MW turbine, but simply postponed it to a later date. This category can only be a typical offshore turbine”, explains Peters. The main focus for Nordex is the N90. The first N90/offshore in Germany could be erected off the Port of Rostock in the Baltic Sea in 2004, and a first prototype of the N90/offshore has already been erected in the port of Frederikshaven (Denmark). In 2005 “at least 10” N90 turbines are to be erected in the planned Baltic Sea wind farm Daarsst, for which the construction and grid connection permits have now been issued.

The Spanish manufacturer Gamesa Eólica (Hall 4) will present its Full Service Package in Hamburg – this is a complete O&M package that ensures a successful 20 year energy project. Gamesa Eólica’s product portfolio includes medium power wind turbines (G52-850 kW and G58-850 kW), as well as the largest 2 MW wind turbine portfolio with 80, 83, 97 and 90 metre rotors. The Indian exhibitor Suzlon Energy Ltd. (Hall 7) has expanded its market share in the booming economy of the sub-continent and, like the Spanish market leader Gamesa, has now realised its first wind farm projects in the USA.

The WindEnergy 2004 – International Trade Fair will be held from Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 May. The opening times are from 9am to 6pm, with extended opening up to 8pm on the Thursday. This international trade fair is a global platform for manufacturers and component suppliers, planners, financing institutes, measurement and certification agencies and specialists from research and development, to help them continue the expansion of this market of the future. The official international partners of WindEnergy are EWEA, VDMA and DEWI, and AWEA and InWEA. Admission charges (incl. catalogue) for on-line/at-the-gate registration: 4-day ticket €33/€48; 2-day ticket €28/€38; day ticket €23/€30.50; school & university students and trainees €8/€13. Further information is available at the website www.windenergy-hamburg.de