Mechanical Loads Test Report for the U.S. Department of Energy 1.5-Megawatt Wind Turbine

A series of tests were conducted to characterize the baseline properties and performance of the DOE 1.5-megawatt wind turbine to enable research model development and quantify the effects of future turbine research modifications. The tests included: Power performance per International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400-12-1; Power quality per IEC 61400-21; Acoustic noise per IEC 61400-11; Mechanical loads per IEC 61400-13; Modal testing. The DOE 1.5 is built on the platform of GE's 1.5-MW SLE commercial wind turbine model. It was installed in a nonstandard configuration at the NWTC with the objective of supporting DOE Wind Program research initiatives such as A2e. Therefore, the test results may not represent the performance capabilities of other GE 1.5-MW SLE turbines. This report describes the test setup and results of the mechanical loads test.