Vestas massive 15MW offshore wind turbine ready for service

Danish wind turbine manufacturing giant Vestas has received type certification for its 15MW offshore wind turbine, making the turbine ready for commercial use.

Following a year of firsts and records, Vestas announced over the weekend that its V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbine had received its Type Certificate from leading international accredited registrar and classification society, DNV.

“The type certificate is a pivotal milestone,” said Anne Vedel, senior VP of product solutions & integration at Vestas.

“It proves that the V236-15.0 MW is ready for commercial use, ensuring safety, quality, and compliance with regulations.

“I have been extremely proud to see colleagues from all areas pulling together to answer and close every question from DNV to make this happen. What a great way to end the year.”

The Type Certificate wraps off an eventful 13 months, starting at the end of October 2022 with the completed construction of the first mammoth 115.5-metre-long wind turbine blades.

The first 115.5 metre-long Vestas V236-15.0MW wind turbine blade is transported by road from Port of Hanstholm to the Østerild Wind Turbine Test Center in Northern Jutland, Denmark.

Credit: Vestas

Originally unveiled back in early 2021, the first 280-metre-tall prototype was installed at the Østerild National test centre for large wind turbines in Western Jutland, Denmark, in December 2022.

Three months later, Vestas announced that the turbine had reached its 15MW nominal rating, guaranteeing that the turbine delivers on what it says on the label.

Only a couple of months later, the V236-15.0MW prototype offshore wind turbine set a new world record for most power output generated over 24 hours of 363MWh.

Unfortunately for Vestas, this record was almost immediately taken by the China Three Gorges Corporation, which reportedly completed 24 hours of operation in late August to generate a new 24-hour wind power generation record of 384.1MWh.

Vestas claims that that the 15MW turbine already boasts a “strong pipeline” – including a 960MW firm order from German energy company EnBW for its He Dreiht offshore wind farm, and for BadaEnergy’s 504MW Ulsan Gray Whale 3 floating offshore wind farm in South Korea.