Finnish wind power
WinWinD was a Finnish wind turbine manufacturer operating from 2000 to 2012. The company described itself on its website as follows:
”WinWinD is a wind turbine manufacturer based in Oulu, Finland, with headquarters in Espoo, Finland and production facilities in Hamina, Finland and India. Our main products are industrial-sized, one and three megawatt wind turbines and related services. We work with you from project design to operation and maintenance throughout the life cycle of the turbine. When you need a reliable partner for a profitable business – we’re here for you.
WinWinD wind turbines are renowned for their efficiency, especially in low-wind areas. This makes them very suitable for Finnish wind conditions. Our new WinWinD 3 turbine guarantees even higher productivity. Thanks to its high tower and rotor diameter of up to 120 m, it is also ideally suited for forested terrain. The WinWinD 3 has a lightweight engine room, which makes logistics and construction much easier. Working with us is easy; most of our staff and service organisation are located in Finland.
Winwind Ltd has responded to the public challenge of the need for domestic wind power by developing the WWD wind turbine.
The WWD wind turbine is a reliable, efficient and maintenance-friendly wind turbine that offers the lowest production costs over the entire life cycle of the wind turbine.
The WWD wind turbine is developed by top professionals in the field. After a thorough techno-economic research, we came up with a solution that generates electricity with a new type of integrated power unit. This innovative solution is based on a single-stage planarisation stage and a slowly rotating permanent magnet generator.
The WWD concept is the result of combining German innovation and expertise with Finnish experience in energy production. Major Finnish component suppliers (Metso, ABB) form the backbone of our networked operations. A continuous development effort in cooperation with our network partners ensures that our technological lead is maintained. WinWinD’s strong ownership background provides a solid basis for the execution of demanding wind turbine deliveries also on a large scale.”
Description:
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Wind power solutions for a sustainable future
WinWinD is an international wind energy solutions provider with a strong position in the global multi-megawatt market.
WinWinD offers 1 MW and 3 MW wind turbines combined with a variety of product and service options from project development to turn-key construction of wind parks. Our operation and maintenance support services ensure high availability for the customers’ wind turbines.
WinWinD turbines are known for their operational efficiency especially at low wind speeds, and the turbines have excellent grid compatibility features.”
WinWinD customers
During its lifetime, WinWinD has been involved in the following projects, among others:
Customer: Oulun Energia.
Location: Vihreäsaari, Oulu
WinWinD has delivered to Oulun Energia the first Finnish wind power plant in Oulu Vihreäsaari. The wind turbine, type WWD-1, has a capacity of 1 megawatt, or 1000 kW, which will cover the annual electricity consumption of 100-120 electrically heated detached houses or about 1000 apartment blocks. The pilot plant was commissioned in autumn 2001.
Customer: PVO-Innopower Oy
Location: Syväsatama, Kokkola
WinWinD has installed two power plants for PVO-Innopower Oy in the deep harbour of Kokkola in January 2003. With a pole height of 70 m, the power plants are type WWD-1 and have a capacity of 1 megawatt/unit, i.e. 1000 kW/unit. The power plants were commissioned in May 2003.
Customer: PVO-Innopower Oy
Location: Riutunkari, Oulunsalo
WinWinD will supply three 1 MW wind turbines to Riutunkari in Oulunsalo. The customer is PVO-Innopower Oy. The turbines were inaugurated on 7 January 2004.
Customer: PVO-Innopower Oy
Location: Karhusaari, Kristiinankaupunki
WinWinD will supply three 1 MW wind turbines for Karhusaari in Krstiinankaupunki. The customer is PVO-Innopower Oy. The turbines will be commissioned at the end of 2003.
History of WinWinD
WinWinD has been in operation for about 13 years. Today, most of the wind turbines built by WinWinD in Finland have already been dismantled. The reason for the demolition was due to technical problems and lack of maintenance of the turbines after the company went bankrupt.
However, WinWinD played an important role in the history of domestic wind power. The company was born out of bold engineering talent, and by the early 2000s the wind power market worldwide was largely controlled by vendors.
The company had a promising, even advanced, power plant in its early days. The company’s first plant was built in 2001, and the next major technological step was taken in 2003, when the company built a second 3 MW plant in the same area, one of the largest in the world.
During WinWinD’s lifetime, the company built around 300 MW of power plants worldwide, of which 70 MW were in Finland.
However, the company ran into problems in the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. Access to finance became more difficult, and it was difficult for a young company building new technology to prove the reliability of the technology at such an early stage.
The company built around 130 power plants during its lifetime, not only in Finland but also in France, Portugal, Estonia and Sweden.
At its peak, the company employed around 400 people in Oulu, Ii, Espoo and Hamina. In addition to its own employees, the company also employed people indirectly through its subcontractors.