China has all the advantages to become the leader in energy efficiency, with the best technology. In terms of wind turbines alone, it has led the world in offshore wind generation for many years, reaching 49% of the total, more than 47% in Europe. Now it’s going for more installs the largest wind turbine ever seen.
Dimensions of this wind turbine installed in China
The Asian country has the immovable objectives towards 2050 to spend a third of its electricity consumption in renewable energy and reach zero emissions by 2060. One of the projects to make these objectives feasible is to invest in the largest wind farm with dimensions equivalent to Norway.
However, now it has opted for the installation of the largest wind turbine in the world capable of generating 18 MW, at a maritime test base in southern China’s Guangdong province. The megaproject seeks to generate sustainable electricity for the largest number of homes without a footprint.
Within the framework of the China Wind Power event that took place last October, the construction company of the wind monster DongFang, presented two of its latest wind turbine models, both with a nominal power of 18 MW.
Less than a year before the exhibition, one of the turbines is installed and fully operational to supply green energy through turns of blades. The numbers of this giant never cease to surprise.
Dimensions and characteristics of the wind turbine installed in China
In principle, we will highlight the measurements of the diameter of the rotor of the Chinese turbine, which is about 260 meters. Through its blades it can cover a space of 53,000 square meters, which is equivalent to at least 7 conventional football stadiums.
But that is not all. If the length figures were already astonishing, wait until you know the energy capacity and environmental impact. The company anticipates that the China wind turbine will generate 72 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy per year.
This exuberant figure is estimated to be able to supply renewable electricity to more than 36,000 homes. And the most important thing for the environment is that it will achieve this result by avoiding the burning of 22,000 tons of coal and the emission of 59,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
Background of giant wind turbines
On the path of decarbonization, China’s energy industry is advancing in the generation of more sustainable energy and competing with the trend in manufacturing extremely large wind turbines for absorb the greatest capacity of marine winds.
This trend is exclusively from China, taking into account that Western companies such as Vesta or General Electric do not intend to cover more than 16 MV for a single turbine.
In this sense, the project carried out by the DongFang company continues a path that other subsidiaries have already been following, such as Interesting Engineering, which had launched its own 18 MV turbine from MingYang Smart Energy, which can exceed 20MW the windiest days.
However, the reliable data collected to date from a large wind turbine comes from a 16 MW turbine that faced wind speeds of 83 km per hour last year.
In this context, the results indicated that the mega wind structure produced 384 MWh of energy, enough to supply 170,000 homes. Another example of large turbines is the one belonging to GoldWind, who has stated that its blades can be adjusted according to the wind.
With these structures, China hopes to achieve its renewable energy generation goals through its giant wind turbines and its large photovoltaic oceans to stop being the most polluting country in the world and achieve sustainable energy self-sufficiency.
