100 Meters up atop a 3 MW turbine in Hamina (and the wind is blowing 12 m/s)
Finland is on the verge of implementing a “feed-in” tariff to help accelerate the expansion of renewable wind power within its borders. In my opinion this is a great idea and despite some misunderstanding on the part of the public, Finland actually has a wind profile that can be very effectively exploited. And in order to meet the goals it has set for itself on CO2 emission reductions, Finland will have to get going right now on the installation of hundreds on wind turbines. So here is something else many people are not aware of, in the highly competitive market for large scale wind power, Finland manufactures several leading edge products.
Because solving the world’s non fossil fuel energy needs and addressing the climate change challenges are going to be cooperative efforts among many nations, I made the point to go visit and learn more about the innovative wind turbine WinWInd, a product designed, engineered and built in Hamina, Finland.
WinWind was founded about 10 years and now has manufacturing operations in both Finland and in India. The Indian facility focuses on smaller, 1 mw wind turbines while the facility in Hamina makes the 3 mw version. What is unique about the WinWInd product is the fact that it has been designed to operate using 30% fewer moving parts. On top of that, its design is ideal for lower wind sites. And through its use of a planetary gear system, WinWInd turbines should be able to provide significantly higher run intervals and fewer periods of downtime for maintenance.
Now while a wind turbine looks simple from the outside (just an oversized pin wheel), in reality, it is an immensely complicated piece of equipment. So visiting the WinWind factory was absolutely fantastic. These babies are big … really, really big! I am talking about 450,000 kilos for a 3 mw unit (including the post it sits on). Each component seems gigantic and when assembled into a complete unit, it is well, immense!
Wind power has a critical role to play right now and Finland clearly has its sights set on being one of the world’s leading manufacturers and users of this wonderful, clean, renewable resource.
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Great photo there. Really shows how massive them turbines are.
I wanted to comment to let you know I enjoy the blog. Thanks for writing.
My great-grandparents moved from Finland to the United States. I have made several Finn friends over the years and found some distant relatives through family history research. I enjoyed a long vacation to Finland a couple of years ago and hope to go back again soon. It’s great to read about your travels throughout the county.
This particular entry interested me, because I work for an agricultural and natural resource economics department. Wind power is certainly a hot topic right now.
I hope all is well with you and your family, as well as everyone at the embassy. I am looking forward to reading more blog entries soon.
It is very encouraging to see Finland take this important step in addressing climate change. We are planning to visit the WinWind facility during our time in Finland Jan-May 2012.