Alstom to supply Haliade wind turbines for Block Island offshore wind farm in US

France-based power generation and transmission equipment provider Alstom has won a contract from Deepwater Wind to supply five Haliade 150-6 MW wind turbines for a 30MW Block Island pilot offshore wind farm located in Rhode Island, US.

According to Alstom, the five turbines together will produce nearly 125,000MWh of electricity per year, enough to power more than 17,000 homes.

In addition to the supply of Haliade turbines for the Block Island wind farm, scope of the contract also includes the provision of operation and maintenance services for a period of 15 years.

The Haliade 150-6 MW wind turbine features Alstom’s Pure Torque design for optimum efficiency and reliability, and 150m diametre rotor that provides an energy yield that is said to be 15% better than existing offshore turbines.

In US, the Block Island project could result in a larger utility-scale offshore wind farm of over 1GW supported by a regional transmission system linking Long Island, New York and South-eastern New England.

The offshore wind project is aligned with The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s "Smart from the Start" offshore wind program that aims to speed up the development of offshore wind along the eastern seaboard of the US.

Alstom North American wind business head Andy Geissbuelher said, "Drawing on the experience and knowledge gained from our collaboration with Dominion Virginia Power, we are driving the technology innovation needed to make offshore generation a strategic part of the energy mix."

Image: Alstom’s Haliade 150-6 MW wind turbine. Photo: Courtesy of Alstom.