Just over one year after Siemens Gamesa saw its new, large 8 MW prototype certified, the company has now secured the actual type certification for the SWT 8.0-154 turbine, which will battle with Vestas' V164s for offshore wind turbine orders.

SWT-8.0 is a further development of the SWT-6.0 og SWT-7.0 and the upgrades primarily consist of a more effective generator including a strengthened electrical system and advanced control system.

Besides this, the turbine has improved magnet technology and improved cooling. Altogether, this sends the turbine up to 8 MW.

Thus far, the 8 MW turbine has exclusively been certified for tests, which have been carried out at a test plant in Østerild. However, with the type certification, the turbine is now ready to be sold on the global market.

Norwegian-Dutch consultancy firm DNV GL is responsible for the certification.

"We are satisfied to have received the Type Certificate for the 8.0-154 wind turbine ahead of time. The efficient certification process is a result of the longstanding relationship between Siemens Gamesa and DNV GL which allows us to have a reduced time to market for our new offshore wind turbine," says Johnny Lillelund, Head of Certification, Siemens Gamesa Renewables Energy.

Thus far the certification only applies to the 154 version of the 8 MW platform, but DNV GL has also been hired to certify the upgraded version of the turbine, which Siemens Gamesa presented in November. This version is expected to be ready on the market in 2020. All the other components are the same as the SWT 8.0-154 turbine excepting the glass fiber blades, which on the new SG 8.0-167 DD have grown from 75 to 8.1 meters.

The 8 MW platform has also been well received by the market. Among the customers is Vattenfall which ordered 113 of the 167 version of the turbines for the three Danish farms Kriegers Flak, Vesterhav Syd and Vesterhav Nord in November in the largest offshore wind order ever seen. Ørsted has also decided that the 94 turbines on the Dutch wind farms Borssele 1 and 2 will be equipped with Siemens Gamesa's 8 MW platform.

For Vattenfall, the ability of the new turbines to reduce renewable energy costs was also critical when announcing the order of 113 turbines in November.

"The deal is a further proof point of Vattenfall’s firm commitment towards a fossil free future and climate smarter living. The investment in this state-of-the-art technology for our modern wind farms, contributes significantly to our goal of building more renewable energy according to our strategy," said Gunnar Groebler, Head of Vattenfall Wind and member of the Executive Group Management, in a press release at the time.

Siemens Gamesa's 8 MW turbines will also replace the Adwen turbines which had been planned for the 500 MW  French offshore wind farm Saint Brieuc. The 167 version will be installed instead, as Siemens Gamesa decided to drop the corresponding 8 MW turbine, AD8, from subsidiary Adwen.

DNV GL is enthused by the prospect of working with the large scale turbines from Siemens Gamesa.

"DNV GL is committed to continually push the technological limits of turbine technology and contributing to the rapid upscaling of offshore wind turbines,” says Kim Mørk, Executive Vice President for Renewables Certification at DNV GL. “We are excited to see that turbine manufacturers like Siemens Gamesa are developing bigger and more reliable turbines faster than anticipated a few years ago," says Kim Mørk, vice president responsible  for the certification of renewable energy at DNV GL.

English Edit: Lena Rutkowski

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