Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Ming Yang Smart Energy is reportedly planning to debut a 50-megawatt (MW), two-headed floating wind turbine that could upend the offshore wind industry because of its low costs.
Ming Yang has regularly made headlines over the last few years for its seemingly limitless wind energy ambitions, having designed and installed “world’s largest” onshore and offshore wind turbines, as well as building a twin-rotor floating turbine platform called OceanX.
That was unveiled in July of 2024 and began operations later that year, and featured two 8.3 MW turbines installed on 219-metre towers at an angle atop a floating platform.
Image Credit: Ming Yang Smart Energy
Ming Yang’s president of international business Zhang Qiying reportedly told attendees at a Beijing conference on Tuesday that his company is now working on a 50 MW version, which would feature two 25 MW turbines.
According to Bloomberg, Ming Yang Chairman Zhang Chuanwei said that the company is planning to begin marketing the 50 MW turbine platform now, with mass production expected to get under way next year.
The twin-rotor behemoth reportedly offers energy costs of 10,000 yuan per kilowatt, or around $A2,160/kW. This compares favourably with a cost of 50,000 yuan per kilowatt for current offshore wind turbines in Europe, and 25,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan per kilowatt in China.
Ming Yang plans to begin manufacturing at a port in Guangdong with an annual capacity of 50 units, with expansion to 150 per year in a planned second phase.
The biggest wind turbines so far installed in Australia are 6 MW, with some new projects looking at turbines of 8 MW or even 10 MW.
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