Chinese wind giant unveils plan for world’s biggest 22MW offshore turbine

Chinese wind turbine manufacturing megalith MingYang Smart Energy has unveiled plans to build a 22MW offshore wind turbine, the world’s most powerful turbine that would stand nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

Various Chinese media reports late last week were confirmed by MingYang on its LinkedIn page on Sunday, with the company announcing plans for two new wind turbine models – the MySE 22MW offshore wind turbine and the MySE 11MW onshore wind turbine.

The MySE 22MW wind turbine will boast a 310 plus metre rotor that will be specifically designed for high-wind regions with average wind speeds between 8.5 metres-per-second (m/s) and 10m/s.

Given who is manufacturing the turbine, the MySE 22MW will also be typhoon-resistant and suitable for both fixed-bottom and floating installations. Carbon fibre blades will also help to deliver “optimal balance for strength, weight, and corrosion resistance.”

While the rest of the world’s wind turbine industry is tempering expectations of a never-ending wind turbine size arms-race – given some of the reliability problems that have affected manufacturers such as Siemens – Chinese manufacturers are pushing forwards with ever-larger machines.

Almost as impressive will be MingYang’s MySE 11-233 onshore wind turbine, which is already in production at the company’s Inner Mongolia production facility.

One of the world’s largest onshore wind turbines – though not the largest, a title currently held by Chinese manufacturing peer Goldwind – the MySE 11-233 has been tailored for the challenging wind conditions found in desert regions such as the Gobi Desert in northern China and southern Mongolia.

Boasting rotor diameters ranging from 233 to 243 metres and tower heights between 130 to 200 metres, a single MySE 11-233 can generate enough electricity in a single day at full capacity to meet the needs of around 1,300 households for a month.

Integrating advanced thermal management technology, maintenance-free sand filters, and grid-friendly features, the MySE 11-233 has also been designed to make it suitable for areas with weak power infrastructure.