The world’s most powerful wind turbine reaches 15 MW for the first time

The world’s most powerful wind turbine – the Vestas V236-15.0 MW prototype – just reached its full 15 megawatt (MW) power rating for the very first time.

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas’ 15 MW offshore wind turbine produced its first electricity in December 2022. It’s now started operating at its rated output following a production ramp-up period according to a tweet the company released today.

The V236-15.0 MW is installed at the Østerild Test Center for large wind turbines in Western Jutland, Denmark, and it’s undergoing an extensive test and verification program before full type certification and serial production begins – and that’s expected in third quarter of this year.

Vestas’ V236-15.0 MW was introduced to the market in February 2021. It has a rotor diameter of 774 feet (236 meters) and a wind-swept area of 470,845 square feet (43,743 square meters) – the wind industry’s largest.

At 919 feet (280 meters), it’s also the world’s tallest wind turbine.

The 379-foot (115.5-meter) blades were manufactured at Vestas’ blade factory in Nakskov, Denmark.

A single Vestas V236-15.0 MW is capable of producing 80 GWh per year. That’s enough to power around 20,000 European households and save more than 38,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of removing 25,000 passenger cars from the road annually.

It’s been selected for New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm as well as New York’s Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 projects.

And it won’t stay the world’s most powerful wind turbine for long, as ever more powerful wind turbines are being launched.

Read more: Siemens Gamesa’s largest offshore turbine will power the world’s second-largest offshore wind farm

Photo: Vestas

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