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12 Nov 2015
Windbox, the Wind Power Advanced Manufacturing Centre, has presented the first of five test benches that the centre is going to launch. It is a pitch test bench in which companies that manufacture wind power components will be able to test and optimise the pitch systems of their wind turbines.
Pitch systems regulate the turning of each one of the blades, to direct them according to the wind speed, in order to optimise energy production and minimise the effort on the turbine. This system has to be reliable in order to ensure the turbine's maximum production, integrity and safety when operating and carrying out maintenance.
The test bench will enable companies to test the pitch system and its components in conditions that are similar to those of a wind farm. These tests will help to validate highly reliable products with an optimised design that reduce the cost of energy and of the system's design and manufacturing processes.
Systems designed for offshore turbines of up to 8 MW will be tested.
The presentation of this equipment was led by the Regional Minister of Economic Development and Competitiveness, Arantxa Tapia. Nine Basque companies who are members of the Windbox Association also took part (Antec, Adwen, Erreka, Gamesa Eólica, Gamesa Innovation and Technology, Glual, Hine, Laulagun and Wec), and the Basque Energy Cluster was the event coordinator. The test bench is situated in the facilities of IK4-Tekniker Technology Centre, in Eibar. This organisation was also responsible for building the bench.
The Windbox initiative was launched in 2014 and promoted by the Basque Government as part of the Basque Country's Advanced Manufacturing Strategy. It aims to develop the capabilities of Basque companies in the wind power sector and help them to improve their position in the international market.
About Windbox
Basque companies Antec, Adwen, Erreka, Gamesa Eólica, Gamesa Innovation and Technology, Glual, Hine, Laulagun and Wec, coordinated by the Basque Energy Cluster, are developing the Wind Power Advanced Manufacturing Centre, situated in IK4-Tekniker's facilities, in Eibar. As part of this project, in January 2015 they set up Windbox, an association to integrate and validate wind power subsystems by means of advanced tests. This association will be the owner of the centre's assets and will coordinate its use and operation.
Windbox will start up five test benches in which critical elements for wind power systems will be tested and validated: the pitch system, the generator, the blade and hub bearings, the yaw system and the bolted joints. The aim is to offer Basque companies cutting-edge equipment that enables them to improve wind turbine components. This will make them stand out from their global competitors.
Benches that have operating conditions similar to real conditions will be developed in all cases, in order to validate products and systems. This equipment will be used to conduct component tests for all kinds of wind turbines, but it will especially focus on new offshore wind turbine models of up to 8 MW.
The total budget for the Windbox initiative is 13.5 million euros and it has secured funding of 4.5 million euros from the Basque Government.
The Basque Government's Advanced Manufacturing Strategy
With the Windbox initiative, the Department of Economic Development and Competitiveness (DDEC in Spanish) is reinforcing the implementation of the Advanced Manufacturing Strategy as one of the main pillars to improve the competitiveness of the Basque industry.
Windbox is fully aligned with the DDEC's Industrialisation Plan and Smart Specialisation Strategy, and will enable the Basque Country to build specific added-value infrastructure, with which companies will be able to develop industrial products, test systems and validate advanced manufacturing techniques, combining two of the specialisation priorities established for the Basque Country - advanced manufacturing and energy.
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