A mighty wind blows for MHI

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has received orders for its wind turbine power generation systems from five major US wind power generation developers.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

(MHI) has received orders for its wind turbine power generation systems from five major

US

wind power generation developers.

In total, 788 wind turbine units have been ordered that will have a cumulative output of 1,363.4MW. The orders consist of 411 2.4MW wind turbines (MWT92/2.4 and MWT95/2.4) and 377 1MW units (MWT62/1.0, also known as the MWT-1000A).

MHI received the orders through Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas (MPSA). Deliveries of the wind turbines will begin this year and be completed in 2009.

The MWT62/1.0 - MHI's best selling wind turbine with more than 900 units in operation globally - is said to rank among the world's highest-performance wind turbines in the 1MW category. The MWT62/1.0 is capable of generating power even at relatively low wind speeds due to its optimised blade structure and redesigned blade shape.

The MWT92/2.4 and MWT95/2.4 are strategically targeted in the global market for large-scale wind turbine generators. Adopting the largest rotor diameter and longest blades in their class, the MWT92/2.4 is capable of generating electricity even at modest wind velocity. The MWT95/2.4 is the power generation performance-enhanced version of the MWT92/2.4; blade length is extended by about 1.5m and the rotor diameter is increased to nearly 95m

As of the end of 2006 the US had total wind turbine installations equivalent to 11,635MW, putting the country second worldwide in terms of cumulative wind turbine installations. Currently one-sixth of all wind turbine installations in the world are in the US.