Dutch Hill Cohocton Wind Farm 2802139997

The 2.5 MW Liberty Wind Turbine was the largest

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

manufactured in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

when it was first installed in 2007. It was developed through a partnership with U.S. Department of Energy and its

National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and d ...

for

Clipper Windpower Clipper Windpower is a wind turbine manufacturing company founded in 2001 by James G.P. Dehlsen.

History

The design of the turbine was meant to reduce problems with power train components that have been experienced in other machines. A two-ton crane within the nacelle simplifies maintenance thereby reducing costs. The size and weight of the Liberty allow it to be constructed with crane of the same capacity as used with most 1.5 MW turbines. Commercial sales for the new Liberty turbine started in June 2006. Liberty turbines were placed into service in the first quarter of 2007 at

Steel Winds Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...

, a wind energy project located on the coast of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

in Lackawanna,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, south of the City of Buffalo in Erie County. Sales stopped in 2012 as the model was experiencing problems with power train components that had cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in warranty repairs.

Technical characteristics

Liberty Wind Turbine uses an 80 meter tall tower as a standard in its design. The rotor diameter varies amongst particular versions of turbines. The diameter for version C89 is 89 meters, 93 meters for version C93, 96 meters for version C96, and 99 meters for C99. Blade lengths are 43.2m for C89, 45.2m for C93, 46.7m for C96 and 48.2m for C100. Liberty Wind Turbines use 4 generators that have permanent magnets. Each generator delivers 660 kW at 1133 RPM at a voltage of 1350 Vdc.

References

External links

Cutaway diagram of Liberty wind turbine
{{Wind power Wind power in the United States Wind turbines