Note that this is just a technology demonstrator project. The installation was delayed by bad weather (not surprising, it's Scotland!). The turbines are 5MW devices supplied by RePower. Some more pics from last year's installation to give you a sense of scale (that is a helipad on the nacelle).
The German RePower turbines have a power output of 5 Megawatts with a rotor blade diameter of 126 metres sweeping an area of over 12,000 square metres. Maximum power output is achieved at around 30 mph, but a couple of MW are generated even in a fresh breeze. Rotors start turning at around 7 mph, and are automatically braked at 70mph.
Power control is achieved by blade pitching - i.e. turning the rotor blades individually out of very strong wind to prevent the whole structure being damaged. Find out more about power control with our guide to wind turbine furling.
Each turbine weighs over 900 tonnes including the 120 metre tall tower which has to be anchored in the deep water. Each turbine blade is 61.5 metres long and weighs under 18 tonnes. LM Glasfiber, the turbine blade manufacturer, has made quite some achievement to keep the weight down so low thereby reducing the financial and environmental costs of building wind turbines
Such large wind turbine generators are ideally suited to the offshore environment thanks to high consistent wind speeds and minimal turbulence. According to historical measures of wind speeds at the Beatrice offshore location, it is expected that the turbines will run an impressive 96% of the time (8440 hours per year), and at 5MW full power 38% of the time (3300 hours per year).
Stat: with a blade length of 61.5 metres and a windspeed of 20mph you will get 127 metric tonnes of air moving through the swept area per second.
I know Beatrice. I assure you the wind from her could light the world!
ping
Ach Du Lieber!
Please Freep Mail me if you'd like on/off
The RePower machine is a bee-yoot!
ping for later reading on wind power