As Schuler Group continues its strong advance into the wind power market, the company has placed an order with The Switch for two direct-driven 3 MW drive trains. The custom-built The Switch Drive™ permanent magnet generator and full-power converter prototype packages are scheduled for delivery and testing in April 2011. By summer the same year, they will be connected to the grid in full operation.
Vantaa, Finland February 25, 2010 – The Switch signed an agreement for two direct-drive The Switch Drive™ prototypes with Schuler Group of Germany. The package consists of completely tailored 3 MW permanent magnet generators (PMG) optimized to work with 2.7 MW full-power converters (FPC).
According to Joachim Beyer of Schuler Group’s Board of Management, the company is currently expanding beyond its highly reputable focus on the automotive industry into the wind market. The expertise Schuler Group has built up over the years with large-scale machinery construction and project development has much to offer wind power generation. Therefore, Schuler Group aims to develop and supply large-scale wind power plants for Germany initially, and then other Central European and international markets.
“With the current shift to low-maintenance, gearless turbines in the wind power industry, The Switch was seen to be a good option for Schuler Group,” says Jürgen Millhoff, Key Account Manager from The Switch, Hamburg office. “We are one of the only suppliers in the market able to customize a PMG and FPC package precisely to match the needs of our customers.”
