Global wind turbine manufacturer GE Renewable Energy has selected Malmö-based Heatex as a cooling system supplier for the Haliade-X + 12MW offshore wind turbine generator.
The cooling system and heat exchangers are designed to minimize service requirements and maintain a constant cooling capacity throughout the life of the wind turbine.
“With Heatex’s air-to-air cooling system, we will achieve the cooling required for the Haliade-X generator with a solid and proven technology,” says Anton Hoang, procurement manager for GE Renewable Energy – Offshore Wind.
To ensure the long life of the components inside the nacelle, both the heat generated in the energy conversion process and the solar radiation must be dissipated or transformed. During conversion, some of the available energy is lost, often in the form of heat. In a wind turbine, kinetic energy is converted into electricity and losses are converted into heat. Generally, larger generators produce more heat than their smaller versions.
The wind generator is cooled by outside air. The complete system with ducts, fans and heat exchanger is optimized to ensure sufficient cooling and low energy consumption. Dust-contaminated humid outdoor air never mixes with clean, dry indoor air – indoor air is a closed loop. This provides the desired environment for the sensitive electronics inside the turbine.
Heatex is a global manufacturer of air-to-air heat exchangers. The company was founded in the 1960s and incorporated into Heatex AB in 1987.
The company uses advanced algorithms to design and improve products. Heatex air-to-air plants are well known for guaranteeing high energy recovery and enabling a quick return on investment.
