Ultra-long blades for world’s most powerful wind turbine shipped for testing
Blades of epic proportions for offshore wind farms of the future spotted being shipped out of port in northeastern China
Photos have emerged of ultra-long blades being shipped for what will be the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine as it edges closer to installation.
The 153-metre blades were shipped from Yantai Port in China’s northeastern Shandong province on 1 August, according to a report in state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Those blades are set to be used on a 26MW offshore wind turbine that is being developed by Chinese manufacturer Dongfang Electric.
Dongfang revealed last year it is developing a 26MW turbine – almost twice as powerful as current leading machines – as it rolled the first nacelle off the production line.
In May, Dongfang announced that it had completed static load testing on blades that it will use.
The blades have been shipped to a test base where they can complete the next phase of their testing cycle, fatigue testing, reported Xinhua. This sees blades mounted to a rig where they are swung up and down to assess their resilience to real-world conditions.
Tim Camp, director of innovation at Offshore Wind Consultants, previously told Recharge that blades of this scale push into “uncharted territory in aerodynamic and structural design.”
Despite Chinese dominance in the wind turbine ‘arms race,’ as it is sometimes known, it is leading European supplier Siemens Gamesa that recently took the crown for having the most powerful installed machine. The 21.5MW prototype was erected at a Danish test centre, however the OEM has not yet committed to commercialising it.
Others in the Western wind industry, including leading Danish supplier Vestas, have argued in favour of halting the arms race, citing negative effects on the supply chain, which struggles to keep up with ever larger machines, and concerns around turbine reliability.
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