The Enercon E-126[1] is the largest wind turbine model build to date, manufactured by the German wind turbine producer Enercon. With a hub height of 135 m (443 ft), rotor diameter of 126 m (413 ft) and a total height of 198 m (650 ft), this large model can generate up to 7.58 Megawatts of power per turbine. The nameplate capacity was changed from 6 MW to 7 MW after technical revisions were performed in 2009. Enercon announced to further increase this capacity to 7.5 MW, according to the Enercon Magazine.
Indeed, since 2011 the E-126 is formally available as a 7.5 MW nameplate windturbine, with maximal 7.58 MW output as calculated value. In reality strong wind power output fluctuates around 7.5 MW, surpassing sometimes 7.6 and even 7.7 MW (online readable values WEC #3, Estinnes wind farm, Belgium). The E-126 incorporates state of the art power electronics, as such being the first wind turbine offering real grid stabilising capabilities. According to Enercon, these power electronics rivals those found on classic power plants. This is why Enercon sees potential for this turbine not only for wind farms, but as well as a singlestanding power unit.
The weight of the foundation of the turbine tower is about 2,500 t, the tower itself 2,800 t, the machine housing 128 t, the generator 220 t, the rotor (including the blade) 364 t. The total weight is about 6,000 t.[2]
The first turbine of this model was installed in Emden, Germany in 2007.[3] A total of 35 turbines of this model are erected (or in construction) as of September 2011, 19 in Germany, 11 in Belgium, 2 in Austria, 2 in Sweden and 1 in the Netherlands.
The E-126 does not have permanent magnets, so avoiding the bad environmental imprint of rare earth mining i.e. Neodymium.[4]
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In September 2011,[5] 132 Enercon E-126 windturbines were operating, in construction or nearing final approval. Furthermore, during 2010-2011 many new onshore wind farm initiatives still in their early design processes were considering two options: a choice for wind turbines of the 2-3.5 MW class, or a variant choice for wind turbines of the 5-8 MW class. This approach is at least applied in the Netherlands. Examples for this trend are found for instance in the preliminary research for the “Wind farm de Drentse Monden”[6] aiming at 300-450 MW with possibly 50-60 E-126/7.5 MW turbines, “Wind farm N33”[7] aiming at >120 MW with possibly 15-40 E-126/7.5 MW turbines, “Wind farm Krammer”[8] aiming at >100 MW with possibly 11-21 E-126/7.5 MW turbines, “Wind farm Wieringermeer”[9] aiming 200-400 MW with possibly 60 or more 6+ MW turbines (in that case possibly Repower 6M/6.15MW).
In September 2010, the world first completed wind farm, using 11 turbines of this model, was completed in Estinnes, Belgium.[10][11]
It supplies the average electricity need of 55,000 households.[12][13]
The world's largest wind farm, the Markbygden Wind Farm, with 1,101 turbines covering 500 km² to generate 4,000 MW and an annual yield up to 12 TWh, is under construction in northern Sweden and will contain a mix of Enercon E-126 7.58 MW wind turbines and Enercon E-101 3.05 MW wind turbines, the exact number of each type resulting from further detailed studies.[14]
The first part of this giant wind farm, named 'Etapp 1', has got final approval on 19 december 2011[15] for building the first 314 wind turbines. The permission implies the aim for Etapp 1 to reach 2.8 TWh per year. The permission doesn't indicate anything of the ratio between E-126 and E-101 turbines, just the max. 200m height (for the E-126) is defined.
Meanwhile the Netherlands government has given its final approval on January 6th 2011 for the Noordoostpolder wind farm, part of which consists of 38 Enercon E-126 7.58 MW wind turbines.[16]
In France, a pending approval for the wind farm 'Le Mont des 4 Faux', consisting of 52 Enercon E-126 7.58 MW wind turbines, is considered to be confirmed early in 2012. The wind farm is situated between Juniville and Machault, at the southern side of the French Ardennes, near Reims.[17]