World’s largest onshore wind turbine powers up for first time

Chinese wind energy giant Sany Renewable Energy has reportedly powered up the world’s largest onshore wind turbine, a 15 megawatt (MW) behemoth capable of powering 160,000 households with turbine blades nearly the length of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Sany Renewable Energy successfully hoisted its 15MW wind turbine back in early October, breaking two world records as it did so, as it is the world’s largest single-unit capacity turbine and the largest rotor diameter for an onshore turbine.

The imaginatively named SI-270150 boasts a rotor diameter of 270 meters and blades measuring 131 metres in length – which rolled off the production line earlier this year.

For comparison, a single blade could be laid down the length of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and there would be less than 15 metres spare on each end before you run into the goalposts.

The three turbine blades, however, boast a massive 57,256 square meters – nearly three times the area of the MCG’s playing surface.

According to several reports this week, Sany Renewable Energy announced on Sunday that it had powered up the SI-270150, marking yet another milestone for the company.