The German project developer VSB has commissioned the Nordex Group to equip its first Finnish wind farm, named “Juurakko”, with the manufacturer’s latest 5 MW turbine technology for light-wind sites. As of spring 2022, the Nordex Group will install seven N163/5.X turbines on the west coast of Finland near the town of Kalajoki. The Group will also be responsible for full servicing of the turbines on the basis of a Premium Service contract for a period of 20 years.
The N163/5.X turbine model is specifically designed for sites with lower wind speeds and can be operated in different power modes within the 5 MW range. As part of the 39.9 MW “Juurakko” wind farm, the turbines will produce clean wind power in the 5.7 MW mode. The average annual wind speed at the site is only a little more than 7.0 m/s. These are ideal conditions for the N163/5.X, which, with a hub height of 148 metres, can fully exploit its strengths thanks to its 163 metre rotor.
The VSB Group knows the turbines of the Delta4000 series very well. In late summer of 2019, the project developer installed a 4 MW variant of the N163/5.X, an N149/4.0-4.5 turbine, on a hybrid tower with a hub height of 164 metres in the “Pustleben” wind farm in Thuringia, Germany.
“With ‘Juurakko’, we are connecting our first wind farm in Finland to the grid. Together with Nordex, we have succeeded in maximising the project’s potential with respect to the prevailing wind conditions. We look forward to continuing our good cooperation,” said Nicolas König, Head of International Project Development at VSB Holding GmbH.
The Nordex Group will supply the N163/5.X turbines for the “Juurakko” wind farm in the cold-climate version and with the Nordex Anti-icing system. This means that they can be operated at temperatures as low as -30 C. This ensures that electricity can be produced throughout the year at sites with very demanding climatic conditions, such as those prevailing in the Nordics.
“We are pleased that the VSB Group has chosen our latest turbine technology for light-wind sites in the Delta4000 series. The N163/5.X is a logical progression based on our successful approach of a flexible power range in the 5 MW class. Equipped with the Nordex Anti-Icing system and as cold-climate version the turbines will enable VSB to obtain the best possible yields at the site,” says Patxi Landa, CSO of the Nordex Group.
