Vestas has announced it will begin serial production of V236-15.0 MW blades from the third quarter of 2023 at its blade factory in Taranto, Italy.
A few days ago, Vestas rolled out the first 115.5-metre blade built for the V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbine prototype, using the mould which was manufactured at the factory in Lem, Denmark.
The blades make up a swept area exceeding 43,000 square kilometres and drive a capacity factor of over 60 per cent.
The Taranto factory will add the production of V236-15.0 MW blades to the production blades for the 2 MW and 4 MW platforms.
“The V236-15.0 MW blade production will benefit from the technical expertise and experience accumulated at the Taranto factory over the last two decades. In this regard, we expect the plant to make a significant contribution to the expansion of the offshore market in Europe,” said Aissa Dabi , Vestas Mediterranean COO.
Vestas is developing and manufacturing the V236-15.0 MW prototype and test blades at its factory in Nakskov, Denmark, and will also begin serial production of V236-15.0 MW blades at the same factory in the second half of 2023.
Vestas will also produce the nacelles for the 15 MW prototype at a new assembly factory in Szczecin, Poland, and the existing assembly factory at Lindo Port of Odense in Denmark.
The V236-15.0 MW prototype stretches 280 metres into the air and will have a production output of 80 GWh/year, enough to power around 20,000 European households and displace more than 38,000 tonnes of CO2.
The turbine will have its offshore debut in 2024 at the Frederikshavn wind farm in Denmark.
In July last year, EnBW pre-selected Vestas to supply its 15 MW offshore turbines for the 900 MW He Dreiht project in the German North Sea and, a few months later, Equinor and bp named the company as the preferred turbine supplier for their 2.1 GW Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 projects in New York.
The model will also spin on the Atlantic Shores project off New Jersey, USA, the Inch Cape wind farm offshore Scotland, and the Baltic Power wind farm offshore Poland.