Carpinteria, Calif.-based Clipper Windpower PLC has received certification from Germanischer Lloyd (GL) to operate its 2.5 MW Liberty C96 Class IIB and C93 Class IIA wind turbines in extreme cold climate conditions. According to the company, the achievement marks the first large wind turbine over 2 MW to receive the new GL extreme temperature certification.
Liberty's standard "low temperature survival" architecture includes a low-viscosity gearbox oil and a gearbox heating system - keeping oil temperatures above zero degrees C at start-up, the company says.
"Because the Liberty series was engineered at the outset to operate in extreme cold climate conditions, only minimal technical and operational changes were necessary to attain compliance with GL's new extreme weather certification process," says Amir Mikhail, Clipper's senior vice president and chief technology engineer. "For the most part, we have integrated each of these new design enhancements as a standard into the Liberty product line."
The Liberty turbines are currently in full production at Clipper's manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the company adds.
