Listed wind turbine manufacturer Windflow Technology has achieved a major milestone in its ongoing effort to get it turbines fully certified, with an independent certifying group giving its design approval for the heart of the turbine.The Christchurch-bas
Listed wind turbine manufacturer Windflow Technology has achieved a major milestone in its ongoing effort to get it turbines fully certified, with an independent certifying group giving its design approval for the heart of the turbine.
The Christchurch-based company has been seeking to receive achieve IEC Type Certification for its Windflow 500 turbine to the highest standard for the past four years.
The issue of certification became a crucial one for the company last year when payments from NZ Windfarms – its sole customer – were halted over certification concerns.
That conflict was resolved recently and Windflow Technology revealed today that UK-based certifying body Lloyds Register had rubber-stamped the nacelle and rotor assembly of the Windflow 500, including the company’s proprietary torque-limiting gearbox and teeter control systems.
The turbine only needs its tower design appraised to be completed before full certification is expected.
Windflow chief executive Geoff Henderson said the parts of the turbine that had now been certified were the heart of the turbine.
“Together with the two-bladed rotor with New Zealand grown wood-epoxy blades, it is the key to the Windflow 500’s robustness and cost-effectiveness.”
He said that after providing 273 documents, including specifications, drawings and calculations, to Lloyds Register, receiving design approval was a “huge achievement”.
More than 70 wind turbines have been manufactured in the past three years, with 65 now in operation at the Te Rere Hau wind farm in Palmerston North, and Mr Henderson said they had been performing above their warranted availability for the past five months.
Under the highest standard of IEC Type Certification - Class 1A Edition 3 – turbines needs to be capable of surviving wind speeds of more than 250 km/h.
Last week the company revealed that it expected a full year loss between $5 million and $6 million.
Windflow’s share price (NZAX: WTL) is currently trading for 98c and is unchanged since end of last month.
