World’s First 16 MW Offshore Wind Turbine Rolls Off Production Line

November 24, 2022, by Adnan Durakovic

The first nacelle for a 16 MW offshore wind turbine jointly developed by China Three Gorges Corporation and Goldwind Technology has rolled off the production line at Fujian Three Gorges Offshore Wind Power International Industrial Park in China.

According to China Three Gorges, the unit has the largest single capacity, the largest rotor diameter, and the lightest weight per megawatt in the world.

The model has a rotor diameter of 252 metres and a swept area of around 50,000 square metres, the equivalent of around seven standard football pitches. The height of the hub is 146 metres.

Under rated working conditions, a single unit can generate 34.2 kWh of electricity per revolution. According to the multi-year average power generation design value, a single unit will be able to produce more than 66 million kWh of clean electricity per year, which can meet the annual electricity consumption of 36,000 households of three, and save about 22,000 tons of standard coal.

”The 16 MW unit has made important technological breakthroughs in the R&D and manufacturing of key core components such as large main shaft bearings and ultra-long lightweight blades. The digital level of unit operation status monitoring is high, and it can intelligently adjust the operation mode for severe weather such as typhoons to ensure the safety and efficient power generation of wind turbines,” Zhai Endi, Chief Engineer at Goldwind Technology, said.

Earlier this year, China Three Gorges and Goldwind rolled out the nacelle for a 13.6 MW wind turbine model which the companies described as the model with the largest rotor diameter.

”The 16 MW offshore wind turbine that rolled off the assembly line this time broke the record again. This is another example of Fujian Three Gorges Offshore Wind Power International Industrial Park helping the coordinated development of the industrial chain and promoting the common progress of upstream and downstream enterprises,” said Lei Zengjuan, executive director and secretary of the party committee of Fujian Energy Investment Company of Three Gorges Group.

Goldwind and China Three Gorges are not the only Chinese companies developing offshore wind turbines with an individual rated capacity of 16 MW or over.

MingYang Smart Energy is also in the process of developing its own model, with two 16.6 MW units set to be deployed on the MingYang Yangjiang Qingzhou Four wind farm in the South China Sea.