David Brown Gearbox System in wind turbines
Clipper Windpower Marine Limited, has received a grant of GBP 2.5 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (“DECC”) for the manufacture of gearboxes for Project Britannia, a 10 MW offshore wind turbine currently under development by Clipper. Under the terms of the grant, David Brown Gear Systems is named as supplier of the prototype gearboxes.
Scheduled for deployment in late 2011, Clipper’s 10 MW wind turbine is among the world’s largest under development. The Britannia will stand at 175 metres in height and, over its lifetime, is expected to displace the use of two million barrels of oil and offset the need to dispel 480,000 tons of CO2 into the earth’s atmosphere. Upon serial production the 10 MW turbines will be deployed initially in European waters.
“Clipper is actively encouraging the implementation of a high quality UK supply chain to facilitate the expansion of Project Britannia which will be built in the North East of England utilising a high content of local components and labour,” said David Still, Managing Director of Clipper Windpower Marine Limited.
“We are pleased to be working with David Brown as we manufacture the first 10 MW gearbox. David Brown has a long and distinguished history of designing and manufacturing high integrity, innovative transmissions in both Defense and Energy sectors,” Still added.
Geoff Charlson, CEO for David Brown, is excited about the opportunities this presents the company and the UK as a whole:
“We have a long history of working with power station operators to provide greater reliability and availability of plant in both conventional and the on-shore wind energy sectors in the UK, France, South Africa, Australia and China. This is a great opportunity for us to apply our hard won applications experience in the field of large off-shore wind turbine development,” he said.
“We are delighted to be part of such an innovative project. It gives us the perfect opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to becoming a significant player in the UK renewables market, creating both long term jobs, whilst also retaining and building strong engineering and intellectual capability in the UK. And let’s not forget, the expertise built in association with Clipper will enable the UK to lead in accessing future off-shore wind opportunities globally.”
Original press release
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