- An offshore wind farm with vertical axes is to be built in the sea off Norway
- The design has several advantages over conventional horizontal-axis wind turbines , including easier maintenance
A wind farm with vertical axes is to be built in the sea off Norway. The alternative design has a number of advantages over conventional wind turbines with a horizontal axis.
Gothenburg (Sweden). The Swedish company Seatwirl has developed a floating wind turbine with a vertical axis. The S2X wind turbine reaches up to 80 meters into the water and excites about 55 meters out of the water. Under optimal conditions, the innovative wind turbine, whose rotor blades are 40 meters long and 50 meters in diameter, can achieve a maximum output of one megawatt.
According to Seatwirl, the vertical axis has a number of advantages compared to conventional wind turbines with a horizontal axis. The vertical axes can be optimally flown by the wind from all directions and therefore do not have to be laboriously tracked. They are therefore well suited for locations with particularly high wind speeds, such as offshore wind farms.
Vertical axis wind turbines simplify maintenance
In addition, the low center of gravity of the alternative design ensures that the systems are particularly stable and that the moving components can be installed significantly lower than in wind turbines with a horizontal axis. This makes the maintenance of the systems much easier and cheaper.
A disadvantage of the upright rotor blades, however, is that at least one blade always works against the wind. The vertical axes are therefore less efficient than conventional wind turbines, in which all rotors are subjected to the same flow.
Offshore wind farm in the sea off Norway
As Seatwirl has announced, an offshore wind farm is to be built in the Boknafjorden near Stavanger with the S2X wind turbine. At this point, about 700 meters off the coast of Norway, there was previously a fish farm. The electricity produced can be distributed to consumers via an existing substation belonging to the energy supplier Haugaland Kraft.
The company has now received approval for the construction of the wind farm. A fishing association and an environmental protection organization, among others, had previously lodged an objection to the construction, which was rejected by the responsible authority.
