UK: UTC-owned Clipper Windpower has halted plans to build the 10MW Britannia turbine at the factory it launched last year in the north-east of England.
The turbine was to be based on Clipper's 2.5MW Liberty turbine and would have been targeted at the UK's Round 3 offshore plan. A prototype was set to be installed next year.
In a statement, Pratt and Whitney Power Systems, which has run Clipper since last year's takeover by UTC, said the project was on hold. There has been no confirmation of its plans for the UK factory, which was backed by the UK government and opened by the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
According to insiders close to the project, UTC was unhappy with both the Britannia's design and its rate of progress.
The Britannia project was headed by Clipper Marine manager-director and former British Wind Energy Association chairman David Still.
Speaking to Windpower Monthly in April last year, shortly after the project was launched, Still said there was the gap in the market for a 10MW turbine.
Still said bigger turbines made more sense in terms of economics. He added: "I've been involved in wind power since the first turbines were built in the UK. Yes, there are large machines out there such as 6MW etc, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily the most cost-effective solution [in terms of running and maintenance]. Offshore needs a 10MW turbine."
Last week, the company announced it was making 75 staff redundant across US business.
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