China's CSSC Haizhuang has said it is working to build the H260-18MW offshore wind turbine, which will break a global record with an 18MW capacity rating. The turbine will have a giant 260-meter-diameter rotor.
According to CSSC Haizhuang, the H260-18MW offshore turbine has a swept area of 53,000 square meters, equivalent to the area of seven standard football fields.
Under full wind speed, 44.8 kilowatt hours of electricity can be generated per revolution, and a single turbine can generate more than 74 million kilowatt hours of electricity every year, and deliver enough power for 40,000 households a year, the company said.
CSSC said that with the 260 meter rotor diameter, the H260-18MW turbine can generate more power with fewer units installed, thereby reducing the cost of offshore wind farm construction.
The company gave an example where, for a 1 GW offshore wind farm, one would need 63 units of 16MW turbines, and for an equivalent wind farm, the installation of 18MW turbines would reduce the number of units by 13% (or around 55 turbines), cutting construction costs significantly.
Elsewhere in China, Mingyang Smart Energy’s blade factory in Shantou, Guangdong recently completed production of the first MySE260 blade for the upgraded MySE 16-260 offshore wind turbine, which the company said set a new record for the world's longest anti-typhoon blade following the Asia's longest 111.5-meter blade released in June 2022)
Mingyang said that, with the MySE260 blade, the MySE 16-260 offshore wind turbine features a 260-meter rotor diameter and 53902 m2 swept area, capable of generating 67 million kWh.