Vestas launches 15MW offshore wind turbine – world’s largest

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems has unveiled the world’s new largest offshore wind turbine, a 15MW behemoth with a massive swept area in excess of 43,000 m^2.

Vestas pits Vestas against Siemens Gamesa and GE Renewable Energy again in terms of wind turbine size, pipping Siemens Gamesa’s 14MW offshore wind turbine and GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X turbine which comes in 14MW, 13MW, or 12MW capacity.

“Introducing our new offshore platform is a huge achievement for everyone at Vestas, as it marks a big leap forward in a very important journey,” said Henrik Andersen, Vestas President and CEO.

“As a global renewables leader, every decision Vestas takes today must be in service of building scale for renewables in the future – only by doing this can we ensure a more sustainable future energy system.

“Offshore wind will play an integral role in the growth of wind energy and the V236-15.0 MW will be a driver in this development by lowering levelised cost of energy thus making our customers more competitive in offshore tenders going forward.”

The new 15MW offshore turbine boasts the world’s largest wind turbine swept area exceeding 43,000 m², generating 80GWh annually, enough to power around 20,000 European households and avoid over 38,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

With the wind industry’s largest rotor with the highest nominal rating, the turbine offers a capacity factor of over 60% and generates a 65% higher annual energy production than the company’s previous largest turbine, the V174-9.5 MW, and for a 900 MW wind park it boosts production by five percent with 34 fewer turbines.

The first prototype of Vestas’ new V236-15.0 MW turbine is expected to be installed in 2022, with serial production scheduled to begin in 2024.

“With the V236-15.0 MW, we raise the bar in terms of technological innovation and industrialisation in the wind energy industry, in favour of building scale,” said Anders Nielsen, Vestas Chief Technology Officer.

“By leveraging Vestas’ extensive proven technology, the new platform combines innovation with certainty to offer industry-leading performance while reaping the benefits of building on the supply chain of our entire product portfolio.

The new offshore platform forms a solid foundation for future products and upgrades.”