Mingyang building 50MW offshore wind turbine
Chinese group's twin-headed model would be double size of others being developed
China’s Mingyang is developing a 50MW twin-headed floating offshore wind turbine that would obliterate previous records for the most powerful machines available.
Mingyang founder and chair Zhang Chuanwei announced the new turbine model today at the China Wind Power summit in Beijing.
A 50MW twin-headed turbine would double the power capacity of the largest turbines being developed today.
A handful of Chinese developers are currently developing offshore wind turbines around the 25MW range, already twice the size of most models deployed currently.
The 50MW model Mingyang is planning will be made up of two 24.5MW turbines. Mingyang only announced the development of the 24.5MW floating turbine today as well.
The two turbines will be combined into one twin-headed model in the same manner Mingyang has achieved with its 16.6MW OceanX prototype.
That model, a prototype for which was deployed last year, is also made up of two smaller turbines.
The 24.5MW turbine model will have a 290-metre diameter and a 165-metre hub height.
“This isn’t just a technical marvel – it can be a strategic move toward scaling offshore wind in European and Chinese deep waters,” wrote Umang Mehrotra, senior analyst for offshore wind research at Rystad Energy, on LinkedIn. “However, this might still pose logistical challenges.”
“It could be seen that the Chinese manufacturers are redefining the wind industry, with six of them now developing turbines of 25MW and above.”
Mehrotra noted that just ten of these 50MW twin-headed turbines would represent a 500MW wind farm.
Chao Guo, analyst at energy intelligence firm TGS 4C, wrote that given Mingyang's recently announced plan to build a factory in Scotland, "you have to wonder – is this revolutionary 50MW floating giant destined for Scottish waters?"