This article was originally published in English
The largest wind turbine in the world has broken the record for energy generation in a single day, being able to cover the electrical needs of up to 170,000 homes.
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The largest wind turbine in the world has broken the power record produced by a single turbine in one day. The gigantic Goldwind GWH252-16MW rises above the sea in the Fujian province of China.
On September 1, the gigantic turbine with blades with 252 meters in diameter produced 384.1 megawatt hours (MWh) in 24 hours, as a typhoon hit southeastern China.
This figure is enough to supply about 170,000 homes38 million LED bulbs or 2.2 million kilometers traveled by electric car.
It surpasses the previous record of 364 MWh, set in Denmark in August 2023.
Why can the Goldwind turbine continue to operate in a typhoon?
Most turbines cannot operate in adverse conditions. Typhoon Haikui forced many wind farms to close. However, the Goldwind can be operational when winds reach high speeds, allowing it to continue generating power.
“We are closely monitoring critical components such as the main control program, step system and generators to gradually lift power restrictions while ensuring operational safety,” a Goldwind spokesperson told the South China Morning Post.
The rotor of the Goldwind GWH252-16MW It has a diameter of 252 meters -about 2.5 football fields- and each blade can reach more than two-thirds the speed of sound.
Which countries are world leaders in wind energy?
China It is a world leader in wind energy. In 2021, it installed more offshore wind generation capacity than any other country in the world in the last five years.
Only China represented 49% of the 64.3GW of total global offshore wind capacity in 2022more than 47% of all of Europe.
The country is also planning the world’s largest wind farm, a facility so large it could power all of Norway. Work is scheduled to begin before 2025.
However, China’s ecological commitment is far from what was desiredwarns Li Shuo, political advisor at Greenpeace East Asia.
“China has undoubtedly led the global expansion of renewable energy. But at the same time, the country is accelerating the approval of coal projects“, it states.
The world superpower hopes to generate a third of its electricity from renewables by 2025. However, plan reach net zero by 2060a distant goal compared to many other countries.
