Mingyang has installed the world’s largest offshore wind turbine in China, which currently holds the title of the largest in the world. Last week, Mingyang Smart Energy announced that they have deployed their MySE18.X-20MW turbine in Hainan Province, China. This turbine has a capacity of 20 megawatts, surpassing the company’s previous 18-megawatt model.
According to Mingyang, the new turbine, named MySE18.X-20MW, is designed to be lightweight, modular, and highly reliable. With a rotor diameter ranging from 260 to 292 meters, the turbine covers a sweeping area of 66,966 square meters, equivalent to more than 12 football fields.
According to New Atlas, Mingyang, known for producing the largest turbines at sea, has stated that the new turbine can generate 80 million kilowatt-hours of electricity with an average annual wind speed of 8.5 meters per second. This amount of electricity is sufficient to power the homes of 96,000 people for a year.
The manufacturers hope that such a large turbine will withstand adverse weather conditions. Mingyang states that the turbine is built to endure severe storms with wind speeds of up to 79.8 meters per second.
Size Matters
Ambitious projects like Mingyang’s not only play a crucial role in increasing the production of clean energy but also help reduce the costs associated with such projects. According to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency published last August, the weighted average cost of offshore wind turbine energy has decreased from more than twice as expensive as the cheapest fossil fuel in 2010 to just 17% more expensive in 2022. During this period, the cost has dropped from $0.197 per kilowatt-hour to $0.081 per kilowatt-hour.
The report also notes that the levelized cost of energy from offshore wind turbines is still higher compared to other renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro, and geothermal energy. Therefore, further efforts are needed to achieve wider adoption of offshore wind turbines globally. However, there is significant potential for generating much more energy from offshore wind projects. Thanks to the strong and consistent winds at sea, these turbines can produce energy more reliably and efficiently than land-based wind turbines.
Additionally, transporting large towers and blades to sea via ships is easier than road transport, and larger turbines generate more energy.
Mingyang is working on developing an even larger offshore wind turbine with a capacity of 22 megawatts. This turbine is set to be installed next year and will have a wind-swept area of 75,477 square meters.
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