Number of employees ~18,000 Type of business GmbH | Website www.enercon.de Founded 1984 Subsidiaries SolVent GmbH | |
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Key people Hans-Dieter Kettwig (Managing Director) | ||
Enercon e126 the most powerful wind turbine in the world
Enercon GmbH, based in Aurich, Lower Saxony, Germany, is the fourth-largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world and has been the market leader in Germany since the mid-nineties. Enercon has production facilities in Germany (Aurich, Emden and Magdeburg), Sweden, Brazil, India, Canada, Turkey and Portugal. In June 2010, Enercon announced that they would be setting up Irish headquarters in Tralee.
Contents
- Enercon e126 the most powerful wind turbine in the world
- Enercon wind turbines
- Technologies
- Patent dispute
- References
As of July 2011, Enercon had installed more than 22,000 wind turbines, with a power generating capacity exceeding 32.9 GW. The most-often installed model is the E-40, which pioneered the gearbox-less design in 1993. As of July 2011, Enercon has a market share of 7.2% world-wide (fifth-highest) and 59.2% in Germany.
Currently Enercon supplies wind turbines to the British electricity company Ecotricity, including one billed as the UK's most visible turbine, an E-70 at Green Park Business Park.
Enercon wind turbines
Technologies
One of Enercon's key innovations is the use of a gearless, direct drive mechanism, used in combination with an annular generator. This is in contrast to most wind turbines, which use a potentially less reliable gearbox in order to increase the rotation speed of the generator. Other differences in Enercon's wind turbines are their distinctive drop-shaped generator housings (designed by Lord Norman Foster) and their towers, which are painted with green rings at the base to blend with their surroundings.
In 2002, the first Enercon E-112 prototype was installed in Egeln, Germany, with a power rating of 4.5 MW. From July 2002 to October 2004, it was the biggest wind turbine in the world, until it was surpassed by the REpower 5M. At the end of 2005, the E-112 was upgraded to achieve a 6 MW power rating.
In 2008, the first E-126 turbines (successor of the E-112) were installed at various sites throughout Germany and Belgium, including the Estinnes wind farm (consisting of eleven E-126 turbines) in Belgium. Although the E-126 turbine was initially developed with a power rating of 6 MW, it has since been upgraded to 7.5 MW. The E-82 turbine was also upgraded and is available in 2, 2.3, and 3 MW versions.
Currently Enercon does not offer or supply wind turbines to offshore projects and has at times expressed skepticism about offshore wind parks. Enercon was rumored to have been ready to supply turbines to Germany's Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm and to a near-shore park near Wilhelmshaven but did not do so.
Patent dispute
Enercon was prohibited from exporting their wind turbines to the US until 2010 due to alleged infringement of U.S. Patent 5,083,039 . In a dispute before the United States International Trade Commission, Enercon did not challenge the validity of the US patent but argued that their technology was not affected. The ITC decided that the patent covered the technology in question and banned Enercon turbines from the US market until 2010. Later on, a cross patent agreement was made with the competitor General Electric, the successor of Kenetech, after similar claims of Enercon against GE. According to a NSA employee detailed information concerning Enercon was passed on to Kenetech via ECHELON. The aim of the alleged espionage against Enercon was the forwarding of details of Wobben's generator technology to a US firm. However, the patent in question was registered in 1991, three years prior to the alleged espionage event.