Offshore Wind Wire

By David McGlinchey

Clipper Windpower broke ground last week in Britain on a factory that will build a much discussed 10-megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine.

The factory is scheduled to be completed in the Fall of 2010, according to the company, which has headquarters in the UK and California.

Several developers have discussed the possibility of using the 10 MW turbines in US projects.  In December 2009, representatives from Scandia Wind Offshore publicly suggested using the 10 MW Clipper turbines for a proposed 1,000 MW Lake Michigan wind farm.

A prototype of the 10 MW turbine, dubbed ‘Britannia Project’ by Clipper, is slated for launch in late 2012.  In 2009, the British government awarded Clipper an almost $7 million grant to push the development of large offshore wind turbines.

“Today marks an exciting and important milestone in achieving the Britannia Project blade requirements,” said James Dehlsen, chairman of Clipper, in a press release.  “Over the next few years, with the development of the Britannia turbine the UK will benefit through the supply of electricity based on its abundant offshore wind energy resource, and also with economic activity related to turbine manufacturing, offshore installation, and long term operations and servicing.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that he welcomed “Clipper’s ground-breaking announcement to build the largest wind turbine blade in the world.”