Vestas Wind Systems is a Danish company specializing in wind turbines. He has been working on the V236-15.0 MW wind turbine for several years, which, as its name suggests, had the ambition to generate 15 Megawatts. The device generated its first watts last December and Vestas has been gradually increasing the load to meet the target.
The superstructure is 280 meters high with a blade span of 236 meters. For comparison, it is almost the height of the Eiffel Tower (324m). A “monster” capable of resisting the wind on a rotating surface of more than 43,000 square meters. Each blade measures more than 115 meters, which is equivalent to the total height of many “ordinary” wind turbines.
Going as high as possible also has an energy efficiency motive. The higher you go, the stronger the air currents. Capturing these air currents is essential, especially at sea where the potential is even greater than on land.
A wind turbine that “takes off”
This is an offshore wind turbine that is not meant to be on land. It is currently at the Østerild test center in northern Denmark. It is there, bathed in the wind, where Vestas tests its new prototypes.
Creating wind farms to supply the coasts is part of the plans. A single V236-15.0 MW wind turbine is capable of producing 80 GWh (gigawatt-hours), which is more or less the consumption of 20,000 European households. This is approximately equivalent to the electricity consumption of the inhabitants of a city of 50,000 inhabitants.
In terms of CO2 emission savings, the wind turbine offers 38,000 tons less carbon dioxide emissions. This is equivalent to removing approximately 25,000 thermal wagons from circulation. V236-15.0 MW is scheduled to launch in Q3 2023, for offshore wind farm projects in New Jersey and New York.
