The world's largest wind turbines begin generating power
Environment — di Cecilia Bergamasco
At the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm, off the coast of Liverpool, 8-megawatt turbines have begun producing electricity.
The world's largest wind turbines begin generating power
At the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm, off the coast of Liverpool, 8-megawatt turbines have begun producing electricity.
In the waters off Liverpool, in the United Kingdom, the world's largest wind turbines have begun turning and generating electricity. The offshore wind farm is Burbo Bank, which features 32 turbines with a capacity of 8 megawatts (MW) each, for a total of 256 MW, standing 195 metres tall, with blades 80 metres long. The turbines are made by MHI Vestas, a company formed in 2014 through a partnership between Mitsubishi and Vestas, and were installed by Danish company Dong Energy. The plant is a joint venture between Dong Energy (50%) and its partners Pka (25%) and Kirkbi A/S, a company of the Lego Group (25%).
The project, the first in the world to feature turbines of this capacity, represents not only a record but also a global turning point, marking a step change in the construction of offshore wind farms.
The record-breaking turbines
The turbines, model V164-8.0 MW, will be remembered for having broken the world record for output from a single wind turbine. Each turbine stands 195 metres tall — 3.5 times the height of the Tower of Pisa (57 metres) — the blades are 80 metres long, almost the length of 7 full-size coaches, and each blade weighs 35 tonnes. When rotating, the blades sweep an area of 21,124 square metres, larger than the London Eye wheel.
The turbines were designed, manufactured and tested at the MHI Vestas factory located on the Isle of Wight (United Kingdom). In 2016 they were taken to the MHI Vestas facility in Belfast for pre-assembly before being installed at Burbo Bank.
"The inauguration of the Burbo Bank wind farm extension is a milestone in the history of MHI Vestas. We are very proud to have produced the 32 8MW turbines and to be contributing in this way to wind power generation in the United Kingdom. The plant will supply electricity to 230,000 British households," commented Jens Tommerup, chief executive of MHI Vestas.
Tests carried out on the turbines in recent months recorded an output of 216,000 kilowatt-hours in 24 hours, a new world record for wind power generation from a single turbine.
Fewer turbines, but more powerful
In the offshore wind sector, it is more cost-effective to have a small number of large turbines rather than many smaller ones: this way, savings are made on the cost of constructing the foundations for the turbine towers, which is the single biggest cost item in building an offshore wind farm. Wind power is therefore set to become a competitive technology even without subsidies, as has already happened in some countries with wind energy auctions.
"This is a milestone for the entire industry," commented Benjamin Sykes, head of Dong Energy's UK market. "Just a few years ago, this scale of technology was considered highly ambitious. Now it is possible to see it in operation and available on the market. It's hard to say where things could go in the future," Sykes added.
In fact, MHI Vestas and other wind turbine manufacturers are already working on offshore turbines with capacities of up to 15 MW, which will make wind power even more competitive.