Major Danish wind turbine supplier Vestas announced that the company would release an onshore wind turbine that has a hub as high as 199m, indicating how offshore wind turbines, in order to capture higher and stronger wind, are not only transitioning to large-size variations, but also becoming taller in size.
Vestas works with German company Max Bögl on building the largest onshore wind turbine in the world by taking reference from the former’s V172-7.2MW wind turbine and combining patented technology of the two companies for the concrete and steel utilized in the process. Vestas commented that the new creation may capture stronger and more stable wind, before eventually elevating power generation of the wind turbine. This type of wind turbine can be applied in Central European countries with a more confined space for planning.
The tower is an essential structure that supports the top nacelle and blades, where a propeller is formed with the blades being fixated onto the hub. According to the definition of the US Department of Energy (DOE), the height of the hub is the distance between the ground and the center of the rotor, and the hub height of onshore wind turbines used for public utilities in the US had increased by 66% between 1998 and 1999, before climbing to approximately 94m in 2021 that is about the same height as the Statue of Liberty.
Vestas’ 199m wind turbine has ascended to a whole new level. Governments are now placing further emphases on port infrastructures, highways, and vessels as wind turbines constantly enlarge in scale, and it looks like such tendency will persist for the foreseeable future.
For instance, GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine is at 260m, which draws close to the Taipei Nan Shan Plaza at 272m, and comes with blades that each measures at 107m. Offshore wind power developer Orsted has also taken the initiative in adopting Haliade-X wind turbine, and commented that the largest offshore wind farm in the world had commenced operation since early September.
(Cover photo source: Unsplash)
