Hutchinson Engineering (Widnes, UK) has been chosen as the sole supplier of wind turbine towers in the UK for XZERES Wind Europe Ltd in a contract worth £1.2 million.
The deal will involve the design and manufacture of more than 200 bespoke monopoles over the next 12 months for 10Kw wind turbines.
As part of the agreement, one of the first turbines has just been installed at a farm in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Over the next 12 months, the two companies will be working together to provide a wide range of steel tower designs including 15m and 18m heights to suit the requirements of diverse sites across the UK.
Rob Aldridge, Business Development Manager for XZERES Wind Europe, said: “We chose Hutchinson-designed masts because the company is respected and revered in the wind power industry.
“They also have great technical capabilities, because for us the challenge is that our turbine is heavier and more robust than other 10kWs. It’s closer in weight to a 15Kw, so we had to ensure that the structure was suitable for the load.
“Another feature that has been successfully introduced is the XZERES hydraulic ram mast so that we have all the aesthetics of a monopole, plus the convenience of raising and lowering the wind turbine when needed.”
The joint ‘XZERES and Hutchinson Engineering project’ in Bradford is now reaping rewards for the owners, as the XZERES wind turbine is fully accredited by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and therefore qualifies for incentive payments from the government.
Rob explained: “Our systems allow farmers to take advantage of Britain’s prevalent and sustainable wind resource as well as government sponsored feed-in-tariff scheme. A XZERES 10kW agriculture wind energy system will receive over £200,000 in FIT (Feed-in-Tariff) payments over the life of the turbine, plus energy savings by offsetting all power consumption from the National Grid.”
Dean Drinkwater, MD of Hutchinson Engineering, added: “As the sole provider of towers to XZERES in the UK, we are confident that our structural engineers are ingenuous in designing the best solutions for wind turbine manufacturers across the globe.
“There are a variety of factors to consider in tower design – including load, conditions, performance, height, durability, minimising fatigue, economics, and aesthetics – our research and development team takes all these elements into consideration and designs accordingly.
“The XZERES monopole provides the best solution for the small wind industry which is poised for tremendous growth, and we look forward to expanding our operations with the company across their business in Europe and the US.”
Fig. 1. The installation of the first XZERES monopole designed by Hutchinson Engineering marks the start of the £1.2 million project delivery.
Fig. 2. Bradford, UK – The first of 200 wind turbines is producing clean energy as part of the XZERES monopole contract with Hutchinson Engineering.
