2-Blade rotating-hub wind turbines

All Vergnet wind turbines are 2-blade. Why ?

A 2-blade rotor is lighter, easier to install and easier to tilt down for maintenance or for hurricane protection. Being able to tilt them down allows them to be serviced easily and quickly on the ground, without hoisting equipment, for the 20-year lifetime of the turbine.

In fact, the amount of power produced does not depend on the number of blades but on the rotor swept area, and therefore on the rotor diameter. Consequently, a 2-blade rotor harnesses as much wind energy as a 3-blade rotor of the same diameter.

Rotating-hub technology which Vergnet has been improving for 20 years, and incorporating the latest technological advances in the aeronautics industry (helicopter rotors), allows the forces exerted on the structure to be considerably reduced. Drive train and structural elements are consequently much lighter and more durable over time.

A light and guy-wired structure

The decision to opt for a guyed mast provides many advantages :

• - Height-for-height, the structure is lighter while offering the same strength. The cost of transporting and installing it are considerable lower.
• - The lightness of the entire structure including its guy wires allows the machine to tilted down for safety or servicing.
• - The work required to install it, in particular the amount of concrete for foundations, is drastically less than for conventional turbines with the same power rating.

A unique tilting system

The main characteristic of our machines is a unique erection and tilting system :

Video of 1MW GEV HP

This system has the following advantages :

• - A 70m turbine can be installed using a single 70 tons crane
• - Lower installation costs as the rotor and blades are assembled on the ground then raised using the lifting system
• - Tall wind turbines (up to 70 metres) can be easily installed even in hurricane-prone zones, to provide the benefits of a large wind farm
• - Servicing and maintenance can be carried out on the ground, considerably reducing operating costs
• - Turbine can be tilted and secured to the ground in the event of a hurricane, as a simple and fast procedure (under an hour for the GEV MP)

An electrical design adapted to weak grids

Vergnet wind turbines are designed to adapt to all power grids, including weak ones :

• - Reactive power management allows the turbine to modulate the voltage of the grid and prevent grid collapse in any eventuality
• - The electrical design of our turbines guarantees high-quality electrical current, regardless of the quality of the grid