Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas today announced the launch of its new offshore wind turbine – the V236-15.0MW. It replaces the US conglomerate GE’s 14MW Haliade-X as the distinction of being the world’s largest offshore wind turbine.
A comparison
The V236-15.0MW has a rotor diameter of 776 feet (236 meters) and a wind-suspended surface area of 43743 square meters.
By comparison, GE’s Haliade-X has a rotor diameter of 220 meters and a wind-sprung surface of 40,016 square feet (38,013 square meters).
GE’s 14MW Haliade X turbines are used for the first time at Equinor and SSE’s Dogger Bank, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, as Electrek reported on 18 December. Installation of the 14MW Haliade X turbines will begin in 2025 before the entire Dogger Bank project is completed in 2026.
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is also working on a 14MW turbine which, if necessary, can also be increased to 15 MW.
The Vestas V236-15.0MW
The Vestas V236-15.0MW increases wind energy production to about 80 GWh / year, enough to power about 20,000 European households and save more than 38,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to removing 25,000 passenger vehicles a year.
Vestas says it has optimized design synergies of its existing turbines such as the V174-9.5 MW:
The globally applicable foreign turbine annually produces 65% higher energy production than the V174-9.5 MW, and for a 900 MW wind farm it increases production by 5% with 34 fewer turbines.
The first V236-15.0 MW prototype is expected to be installed in 2022, while serial production is planned for 2024.
Henrik Andersen, Vestas president and CEO, said:
Offshore wind will play an integral role in the growth of wind energy and the V236-15.0 MW will be a driving force in this development by reducing the equal cost of energy and thus making our customers more competitive in offshore tenders in the future. .
As CNBC reports, Vestas’ revenue reached € 14.8 billion ($ 17.9 billion) in 2020, a 22% increase over 2019, despite the pandemic.
Electrek’s Take
I’m not going to lie, I really like these things.
Just when you think that wind turbines abroad can not get bigger, do it. And dangit, I really want to get in a boat and see first hand the cheerful, powerful beauty of an offshore wind farm, once the trip is safe again. It must be staggering. I have seen hundreds of wind turbines in Denmark, but the foreign giants will be a different experience.
One of the most exciting things about renewable energy, and the writing of renewable energy, is the joy of learning about the latest innovations, the anticipation of when it will be implemented, and actually seeing it. Will they really cause a green revolution, like the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century (but much cleaner)? This is where hope comes in.
I can not wait to see that these big giants of Vestas and GE and Siemens beat up, and that the healthy competition would continue. Will 16 MW follow? Place your bet.
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