Vestas 15 MW Prototype Offshore Wind Turbine to Spin in Denmark

Vestas has decided to install the V236-15 MW prototype offshore wind turbine at the Østerild National test centre for large wind turbines in Western Jutland, Denmark.

The installation of the prototype turbine will take place in the second half of 2022 and its first kWh is planned for the fourth quarter of that year.

Stretching 280 metres into the air with a production output of 80 GWh/year, the prototype will be the tallest and most powerful wind turbine in the world once installed, Vestas said.

”Colleagues across Vestas have worked very hard and collaborated closely to ensure the rapid progress in developing and assembling the V236-15.0 MW prototype, and this announcement is an important step forward for Vestas and our customers,” Anders Nielsen, Chief Technology Officer at Vestas, said.

”Getting the prototype turbine in the ground will underline how the V236-15.0 MW will raise the bar in terms of technological innovation, industrialisation and scale in the wind energy industry.”

The development of the prototype has already progressed across Vestas’ R&D and production sites in Denmark.

The blade moulds have been developed at Vestas’ blade factory in Lem and the manufacturing of the 115.5-metre prototype blades will begin later this year at Vestas’ offshore blade factory in Nakskov.

The nacelle will be developed and assembled at the offshore nacelle factory in Lindø port of Odense. All large components will be preassembled and transported to Østerild, where installation will take place.

The prototype will be installed onshore to facilitate easy access for testing prior to installation, and the main prototype components will already have undergone testing and verification.

During the initial period of operations, Vestas will collect data needed to obtain a Type Certificate, which is a key step in reaching serial production of the turbine in 2024.

With a swept area exceeding 43,000 m2, the V236-15.0 MW delivers industry-leading performance and moves the boundaries of wind energy production to around 80 GWh/year, enough to power around 20,000 European households and displace more than 38,000 tonnes of CO2, which is the equivalent to removing 25,000 passenger cars from the road every year, Vestas said.

The globally applicable offshore turbine is said to offer 65 per cent higher annual energy production than the V174-9.5 MW, and for a 900 MW wind farm it increases production by five percent with 34 fewer turbines. It is said to offer excellent partial-load production, resulting in a more stable energy production, and a capacity factor over 60 per cent depending on site-specific conditions.

Launched in February 2021, Vestas secured its first pre-selected tenderer status for the V236-15.0 MW turbine in July 2021 for the 900 MW He Dreiht project in Germany.