Wind energy - high quality products for all bearing types in a wind turbine

Bearings for wind turbines

Wind energy – the energy of the future – makes a vital contribution to the energy revolution. In this matter, the carbon dioxide-free energy conversion is playing an ever-increasing role. Germany is not only a technological leader in this field, but also uses wind as its number one alternative energy source.

Our knowledge in the field of renewable energies makes thyssenkrupp rothe erde a reliable partner for all major wind turbine manufacturers. This has been the case since the very beginning of the industry. We at thyssenkrupp rothe erde support the growth of ecofriendly energy by providing essential elements for wind energy plants. We are constantly working to ensure that our products and thus our customers are able to make a contribution to a more environmentally-friendly future.

New benchmarks for the equipment of wind energy plants – rothe erde^® slewing bearings

As far as bearings for wind turbines are concerned, we develop customized solutions for:

main bearings
pitch bearings
yaw bearings

With our long-term experience, we develop and manufacture the right solution for every drive train concept with main bearing diameter up to 6,500 mm. We manufacture cylindrical and tapered roller main bearings for single or multiple-row designs with arbitrary contact angles. Furthermore, clamped or screwed installations, bainitic, case or mixed hardened, or inductive hardened raceways without soft-spot up to an outer diameter of 6,500 mm. Suitable for pitch and yaw bearings are single- or double-row four-point ball bearings. Moreover, triple-row roller bearings can be applied to carry increased loads and pitch movements.

Our solutions in the wind energy sector

Technical drawing of a main bearing in silver and gold, application wind turbine

A shaft bearing must be able to withstand the torques caused by the strength of the wind, and transmit these, with as few losses as possible, to the electricity-producing generator. The simultaneously active high power and torques must be securely supported. In this, the main bearing becomes the central element of the drive train concept.

In close collaboration with customers, thyssenkrupp rothe erde will develop an appropriate solution up to a diameter of 6,500 millimetres. Whether as a single or multiple-row construction form, whether the installation was clamped or screwed, whether with operational or slip-free inductive hardened tracks - our main bearings are thoroughly tested before delivery. State-of-the art test methods and efficient analysis tools provide us with crucial data on load capacity, durability, performance capability and power utilisation limits.

Typical products: Tapered roller bearings, Three-row cylindrical roller bearing, Double-row tapered roller bearing, single-row tapered roller bearings, Single-row cylindrical roller bearing, Toroidal bearing, Spherical roller bearings

technical drawing of four point bearing in silver, wind turbine application

In order to ensure the generator’s optimal power output is achieved against the backdrop of varying wind speeds, the rotor blades’ angle of attack must be variable. Single and double-row four-point roller bearings are suitable for this.

The pitch-adjusting bearings are under heavy strain as a result of continuous load changing. In order to guarantee reliable operation throughout the service life of the turbine, the pitch bearings made by thyssenkrupp rothe erde are designed with preloaded tracks and wear-resistant cage inserts. Moreover, we use special ozone and UV-resistant double lip seals to protect the running system, and the environment as best as possible. Upon request, the pitch bearings can be designed with integrated interior or exterior gearing.

Typical products: Double four-point bearings, Four-point bearings, Three-row cylindrical roller bearing.

Technical drawing of an azimuth bearing in silver and gold, application wind turbine

If the wind direction changes, the nacelle of the wind turbine has to be adjusted. For this purpose, the nacelle is rotatably mounted on the tower head. Single-row or double-row four-point bearings with integrated internal or external gearing are particularly suitable as yaw bearings. Three-row roller bearings are also used in the megawatt class. All designs have durable, integrated sealing systems for the bearing gaps.

Typical products: Double four-point bearings, Four-point bearings, Three-row cylindrical roller bearing.

Your advantages at a glance

Individual
Our yaw- and pitch bearings are custom made for each application up to a diameter of 9,600 mm and our main bearings up to a diameter of 6,500 mm.
Reliable
Our many years of expertise in ball bearing and roller-bearing slewing rings ensure an optimal design for the given load and application conditions.
APQP4Wind
Since 2017, we have been focusing on risk minimization with the help of the APQP4Wind initiative. It ensures the transparent implementation of development, planning and production processes.

Individual

Our yaw- and pitch bearings are custom made for each application up to a diameter of 9,600 mm and our main bearings up to a diameter of 6,500 mm.

Reliable

Our many years of expertise in ball bearing and roller-bearing slewing rings ensure an optimal design for the given load and application conditions.

APQP4Wind

Since 2017, we have been focusing on risk minimization with the help of the APQP4Wind initiative. It ensures the transparent implementation of development, planning and production processes.

Long-life slewing bearings for your wind turbines - We are a strong partner at your side

With our extensive knowledge, the capability to produce all kind of bearings for wind energy and our research & development facilities we are prepared for all upcoming challenges may it be on- or offshore. Our customers and we ourselves optimally face all future challenges in the onshore and offshore market. The perfect combination of manufacturing options (for pitch / yaw bearings up to 8,000 mm), our own research & development centers and our experienced employees worldwide make sure of it.

In our R&D test centers, we validate the latest test methods and efficient analysis tools. Moreover, we continuously develop our calculation approaches with regard to load capacity, service life, performance and capacity limits. Together with our customers, we define special requirements and then implement them holistically in close cooperation.

With production facilities in 10 countries and the associated sales network, we have been convincing as a reliable partner in the wind energy for decades. Thanks to our production facilities in all major wind markets, we are also able to meet the requirements of our customers with regard to a local supply chain. We are there wherever our customers need us.

Milestones - Evolution of our main bearings

Learn more

Our reference sites for wind turbines and wind farms

A map of Europe with reference sites for wind farms

Technical details for the references

Wind farm	Number of Wind turbines	Performance in MW	Statur / Initial operation	Delivered products
Burbo Bank is located in Liverpool Bay in the Irish Sea, about 7 km from Sefton and the Wirral coast. The wind farm, operated by East Energy, has provided electricity to approximately 80,000 homes since it began operation in 2007.	25	90	in operation since 2007	Pitch and yaw bearings
Rhyl Flats is located in the Irish Sea, about 8 km off the coast of Wales. It was commissioned in 2009 and has since provided electricity to around 61,000 homes.	25	90	in operation since 2009	Pitch and yaw bearings
Walney consists of two subregions of the Irish Sea. It has provided electricity to 460,000 U.K. homes each year since it opened in 2011. Two more parts are in planning.	102	367	in operation since 2011	Pitch and yaw bearings
West of Duddon Sands is located 14 km southwest of Wolney Island in the Irish Sea. It has supplied electricity to 300,000 homes since it was commissioned in 2014.	108	389	in operation since 2014	Pitch and yaw bearings
Gwynt y Mor is located in the Irish Sea. It has been in operation since 2015 and supplies 400,000 homes annually with a total capacity of 576 megawatts.	160	576	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings

Wind farm	Number of wind turbines	Performance in MW	Status / Initial operation	Delivered products
Lynn & Inner Dowsing is an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. It is located about 5 to 6 km east of Skegness. The wind farm has been feeding electrical energy into the grid since 2008. 130,000 households have been supplied with electricity since then.	54	194	in operation since 2008	Pitch and yaw bearings
Sheringham Shoal is located in the North Sea, 17 km from the Norfolk coast. Since 2011, it has supplied 220,000 households with electricity annually.	88	317	in operation since 2011	Pitch and yaw bearings
Greater Gabbard is located in the North Sea, 14 miles from the Suffolk coast. The wind farm went into operation in 2011. It cost £650 million to build. Wind farms provide electricity to 530,000 British homes.	140	504	in operation since 2012	Pitch and yaw bearings
London Array is located off the east coast of England. The first test run took place in 2012. Since then, it has supplied 750,000 homes with electricity annually.	175	630	in operation since 2012	Pitch and yaw bearings
Lincs is located in the North Sea, 8 km off Skegness, in England. Since 2013, it has supplied 200,000 homes with electricity annually. The wind farm is a joint venture between Centrica Energy, DONG Energy and Siemens Projekt Ventures.	75	270	in operation since 2013	Pitch and yaw bearings
Gunfleet Sands is located in the North Sea, 7 km southeast of the Clactonian Sea. Wind farms have provided electricity to 125,000 homes since their construction.	48	184	in operation since 2013	Pitch and yaw bearings
Riffgat became operational in 2014 and has since supplied electricity to 112,000 homes northwest of Borkum annually.	30	108	in operation since 2014	Pitch and yaw bearings
Amrumbank West is located in the North Sea, in Germany. The area of the plant is 32 km². Since 2015, wind farms have been supplying electricity to 300,000 households annually.	80	302	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
Borkum Riffgrund I Borkum is located in the North Sea. The first test run took place in 2015. Since then, 285,000 households have been supplied with electricity annually.	78	312	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
Butendiek, an offshore wind farm 32 km from Sylt, was commissioned in 2015 and currently supplies 370,000 households with electricity. The total investment is 1.3 billion euros.	80	288	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
DanTysk Since the wind farm became operational in 2015, it has supplied 400,000 households with electricity. The wind farm is also a joint venture between Vattenfall and Stadtwerke Munih.	80	288	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
Meerwind Süd/Ost is located 23 km north of the island of Helgoland in the North Sea. Since 2015, 288 MW have been fed into the power grid, supplying 360,000 households annually.	80	288	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
Westermost Rough is located in the North Sea and belongs to England. Since it is commissioning in 2015, 150,000 households have received electricity from this wind farm.	35	210	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
Gemini is located in the Dutch part of the North Sea. Since its launch in 2017, 785,000 households have been supplied with electricity.	150	600	in operation since 2017	Pitch and yaw bearings
Gode Wind I the German offshore wind farm is located 33 km north of the island of Norderney. The wind farm finally went into operation in 2017. Since then, 330 MW have been fed into the grid, supplying electricity to 600,000 households.	55	330	in operation since 2017	Pitch and yaw bearings
Gode Wind II is located 32.5 km north of the North Sea island of Norderney, making it part of Germany. With a capacity of 252 MW, together with the Gode Wind 1 wind farm, it supplies 600,000 households with electricity. The commissioning took place in 2017.	42	252	in operation since 2017	Pitch and yaw bearings
Sandbank is located 90 km off the coast of Sylt in the German North Sea. The total capacity of the wind farm is 288 MW, supplying electricity to 400,000 households. The test run was carried out in January 2017.	72	288	in operation since 2017	Pitch and yaw bearings
Veja Mate in the German part of the North Sea, 402 MW of the wind farm goes into the power grid. These ensure that 400,000 German households are supplied with electricity	67	402	in operation since 2017	Pitch and yaw bearings
Dudgeon is located 32 km off the coast of the coastal town of Cromer in North Norfolk. Since its completion at the end of 2017, this 402-MW offshore wind farm with its 676-MW wind turbines, has been producing enough energy to supply more than 430,000 British households.	67	402	In partial operation	Pitch and yaw bearings
Race Bank is located 20 km from the North Norfolk coast and delivers 580 MW of capacity, enough for 400,000 homes. At the same time, this provides more than 830,000 tons of CO² reduction.	91	573	in operation since 2018	Pitch and yaw bearings
Hywind Scotland is the world's first commercial wind farm with floating wind turbines and has been in operation since 2017. The farm is located about 18 miles from Peterhead on Scotland's North Sea coast.	5	30	in operation since 2017	Pitch and yaw bearings
Galloper Wind Farm is located 27 kilometers from the Suffolk coast. The total capacity of the wind farm is 336 MW with 56 wind turbines. Annually, up to 380,700 average British households are supplied with electricity.	56	336	in operation since 2018	Pitch and yaw bearings
Rentel consists of 42 wind turbines, which can generate enough sustainable energy to supply 300 thousand Belgian households annually. Located between the banks of Thornton and Lodewijck, the Rentel wind farm has already been in operation since the end of 2018.	42	308	in operation since 2019	Pitch and yaw bearings
Beatrice is Scotland's second largest operating offshore wind farm, capable of generating wind power for up to 450 thousand homes. It is located about 13.5 km from the Caithness coast and has 84 wind turbines with a capacity of 7 MW.	84	588	in operation since 2019	Pitch and yaw bearings
Nissum Bredning is located in the North Sea. With a total capacity of 28 MW, it supplies electricity to around 20,000 households.	4	28	in operation since 2018	Pitch and yaw bearings
Albatros is a 112 MW offshore wind farm being developed 90 km north of the island of Borkum in the exclusive economic zone of the German North Sea. It is an extension of the nearby Hohe See wind farm.	16	112	in operation since 2020	Pitch and yaw bearings
Hohe See consists of 71 wind turbines with a total capacity of 497 MW. It covers an area of approximately 40 square kilometers in the German exclusive economic zone of the North Sea, 90 kilometers north of Borkum and 100 kilometers northwest of Helgoland.	71	497	in operation since 2019	Pitch and yaw bearings
East Anglia One is located in the southern North Sea, approximately 36 kilometers from the nearest point to the port of Lowestoft and 42 kilometers from Southwold. The project has an operating capacity to supply electricity to approximately 659,922 UK homes.	102	714	in operation since 2020	Pitch and yaw bearings
Hornsea the offshore wind farm located in the English part of the North Sea consists of four areas: one, two, three and four.	171	1197	In partial operation	Pitch and yaw bearings
Borssele is an offshore wind farm located in the southern part of the Dutch exclusive economic zone of the North Sea. It consists of four sections of about 350 MW each and a fifth small section (20 MW) for experimental purposes. With a total of around 1,500 MW, it is the largest wind farm in the Netherlands to date.	94	752	in operation since 2021	Pitch and yaw bearings
Neart na Gaoithe is located 5.5 km from the Fife coast and covers an area of approximately 105 km². EDF Renewables UK acquired the project in May 2018 through a bidding process.	64	448	In planning 2023	Pitch and yaw bearings
Alpha ventus is located in the German part of the North Sea, 43 km northwest of the North Sea island of Borkum. Since 2010, a total of 60 MW of power has been fed into the grid. Therefore, 70,000 households are supplied by this wind farm.	12	60	in operation since 2010	Blade, azimuth and main bearings
Global Tech I has a total capacity of 400 MW and has supplied 445,000 households with electricity since test operation.	80	400	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
Trianel Windpark Borkum is located in the North Sea and is a project of the participating municipal utilities and Trianel. The offshore wind farm supplies around 200,000 households with green electricity each year.	40	200	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearings
Nordsee Ost is located 30 km northwest of the island of Helgoland in the North Sea. Since it’s commissioning in 2015, it has supplied 320,000 households with electricity each year.	48	295	in operation since 2015	Main bearing
Nordsee One is located 40 km north of the island of Juist. 200,000 households are supplied with electricity by this offshore wind farm.	54	332	In partial operation	Main bearing
Nordergründe is located in the Irish Sea, about 8 km off the coast of Wales. It was commissioned in 2009. Since then, approximately 61,000 households have been supplied with electricity.	18	110	in operation since 2017	Main bearing

Wind farm	Number of wind turbines	Performance in MW	Status / Initial operation	Delivered Products
Anholt is located in the Kattegat and is 15 km away from the east coast of Jutland. With a total capacity of 400 MW, 400 thousand Danish households are supplied with electricity annually.	111	400	in operation since 2013	Pitch and yaw bearings

Wind farm	Number of wind turbines	Performance in MW	Status / Initial operation	Delivered products
Viking the offshore wind farm is located in the Baltic Sea, 35 km northeast of Rügen. The park supplies electricity to about 350,000 households.	70	at 5 MW/Turbine = 350	in operation since 2017	Pitch and main bearing
Avedore Holme is located in the Baltic Sea and supplies 4,900 households with electricity.	3	10	in operation since 2009	Pitch and yaw bearing
EnBW Baltic 2 is located in the Baltic Sea, 32 km north of Rügen. The test run was carried out in 2015. Since then, 340,000 households have been supplied with electricity from wind farms.	80	288	in operation since 2015	Pitch and yaw bearing
Tahkoluoto the Baltic wind farm has a total capacity of 40 MW and has been supplying electricity to around 8,000 households since it’s commissioning in 2017.	10	40	in operation since 2017	Pitch and yaw bearing
Arkona Basin Southeast is located 35 km northeast of Rügen. With 60 MW Siemens 6 MW turbines, its capacity is 385 MW, supplying up to 400,000 households with renewable energy and saving up to 1.2 million tons of CO2 annually.	60	384	in operation since 2019	Pitch and main bearing

Wind energy - high quality products for all bearing types in a wind turbine

Bearings for wind turbines

Are you looking for the suitable bearing for your wind energy plant?

New benchmarks for the equipment of wind energy plants – rothe erde^® slewing bearings

Our solutions in the wind energy sector

Main bearing

Pitch bearing

Yaw bearing / azimuth bearing

Your advantages at a glance

Long-life slewing bearings for your wind turbines - We are a strong partner at your side

Our reference sites for wind turbines and wind farms

Technical details for the references

Wind energy - high quality products for all bearing types in a wind turbine

Bearings for wind turbines

Are you looking for the suitable bearing for your wind energy plant?

New benchmarks for the equipment of wind energy plants – rothe erde® slewing bearings

Our solutions in the wind energy sector

Your advantages at a glance

Long-life slewing bearings for your wind turbines - We are a strong partner at your side

Our reference sites for wind turbines and wind farms

Technical details for the references

New benchmarks for the equipment of wind energy plants – rothe erde^® slewing bearings