New 18-MW Model Takes Over as World’s Largest Offshore Wind Turbine
07 Jan 2023 by powermag.com
A subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) has unveiled components for what would be the world’s largest and most-powerful wind turbine, an 18-MW product that tops the recent launching of a 16-MW turbine developed by other Chinese companies.
CSSC Haizhuang unveiled the new turbine in a ceremony at the Dongying City industrial park in China’s Shandong province. The 18-MW unit will feature a 260-meter-diameter rotor that will power a modularized medium-speed geared drive train and permanent magnet generator, which were highlighted in a YouTube video published Jan. 6 (see below).
The party group of CSSC also Friday met to “revisit and study the important instructions and instructions made by General Secretary Xi Jinping [China’s president] to the group company, and to convey and learn from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s 2023 New Year’s greetings.” The group in a statement said, “We must keep in mind the corporate mission of the group company ‘leading the development of the industry, supporting national defense construction, and serving the national strategy’,” which includes leadership in development of offshore wind equipment.
The rotor hub and nacelle of a new 18-MW offshore wind turbine from a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp. is shown at its factory. Source: CSSC Haizhuang
“The H260-18MW turbine… will make a great contribution to the improvement of turbine capacity and efficiency, as well as reducing the LCOE [levelized cost of energy] of offshore wind farms, and has market prospects in high-speed wind and deep-sea areas,” said the company in a news release.
Chinese Companies Building Ever-Larger Turbines
The new turbine is larger than designs from China Three Gorges, Goldwind, and MingYang—other Chinese companies—and also more powerful than current offerings from Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, and General Electric.
CSSC Haizhuang in its news release said the components of the H260-18.0 turbine “demonstrated that [the manufacturer] has mastered the core technologies of high-rating offshore wind turbines and key components, leading the global offshore wind power industry to reach a new milestone.”