Giant 10-Megawatt Turbine Project Stopped

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- Plans to develop the world's largest offshore wind turbine, the 10-megawatt (MW) Britannia, have been shelved by Clipper Windpower plc (LSE:CWP) (London, England).

The giant turbine would have had a generating capacity of almost twice that of current offshore turbine technology and was the subject of a major deal with the U.K.'s Crown Estate in 2008. The decision has been made by Clipper's new owners, United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) (Hartford, Connecticut), which took over the company last December. Since then, the company has been overseen by another UTC-owned company, Pratt & Whitney Power Systems. The Britannia turbine was to based on Clipper's existing 2.5-MW Liberty turbine and was due for delivery at the end of this year.

The Crown Estate has confirmed that with the halting of the Britannia project, it no longer intends to become the first commercial customer for the product. In addition, funds provided to the development of the Britannia prototype have been repaid by Clipper's parent, UTC. The company claimed its decision to shelve the Britannia project comes at a time when the U.K. offshore market is very competitive and the current financial climate is uncertain. The U.K. is potentially the largest offshore wind market in the world, with Round 3 projects expected to account for more than 25,000 MW of electricity. For additional information, see January 4, 2010, article - U.K. To Award £100 Billion in Offshore Wind Contracts.

Clipper started construction of a wind-turbine blade production facility in the U.K. last April. Located at the Neptune Estate in Tyne, it began production late last year. It was also expected to supply the massive wind turbine blades for the Britannia prototype, each measuring 72 metres and weighing 30 tons. For additional information, see April 23, 2010, article - Clipper Windpower Begins Construction of Turbine Blade Manufacturing Facility in United Kingdom. The long-term future for the plant remains unknown, but there are no planned redundancies, UTC said.

The end of the Britannia project comes as many of Clipper's competitors have announced plans to build offshore turbine manufacturing plants in the U.K. In January, German engineering giant Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) selected the Port of Hull in England for its proposed offshore turbine manufacturing and export facility. In May, Vestas Wind Systems (OTC:VWDRY) (Randers, Denmark) announced it is aiming to build an offshore turbine manufacturing plant in the U.K. following the signing of an agreement for 70 hectares of land at the Port of Sheerness in Kent. For additional information, see January 24, 2011, article - Vestas Picks U.K. for Offshore Turbine Plant.

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