Design for the World’s Largest Wind Turbine, 16MW from China
In the efforts to build more efficient and lower-cost wind turbines, China’s MingYang introduced a new design that it says offers the world’s largest offshore hybrid drive wind turbine. Rates for 16MW, the MySE 16.0-242 adds another seven feet to the length of blades versus the current largest design and also incorporates new features to make it less costly and more resilient.
Designed for high-wind operations, including typhoon-class, the 16MW turbine features a 793-foot diameter rotor with each blade measuring 387 feet. The turbine will stand 866 feet tall and have a 46,000m2 swept area, the equivalent of more than six soccer fields and nearly seven percent larger than Vestas Wind Systems’ 15MV turbine introduced in February 2021 and due for production in 2024.
With the industry’s largest rotor and highest nominal rating, MySE 16.0-242 is set to move the boundaries of wind energy production even further. A single MySE 16.0-242 turbine can generate 80,000MWh of electricity every year. It produces 45 percent more energy than MingYang’s previous turbine model, the MySE 11.0-203.
“In response to demand for anti-typhoon wind turbines in coastal Guangdong, MingYang is systematically developing high-quality products by collaborating with global supply chain partners and integrating cutting-edge technologies from industries such as aerospace, materials, and big data,” said Qiying Zhang, President and CTO of Ming Yang Smart Energy.
MingYang is highlighting other advancements in the design of their giant turbine drawing on the company’s previous experience expanding from 5.5MW to 11MW. For its size, MingYang said the nacelle weight of the new turbine has a lower weight at 37 tons per MW. Compared to a heavier nacelle, the modest head mass allows for more efficient use of the tower and foundation construction, resulting in fewer purchased materials and logistics. All the power electronics and MV-transformer have also been relocated up the tower into the nacelle, simplifying cabling and enhancing system maintenance. They are also highlighting an air-tight design that protects the nacelle from harsh salt spray corrosion while yet allowing for internal natural air cooling
The Hybrid-Drive transmission technologies, and in particular the medium-speed planetary gearbox with load sharing and forced high precision main bearing lubrication, have also been fully optimized. The company believes the combination of design enhancements over its previous smaller, lightweight models will provide additional robustness and efficiency for this new turbine.
The 16MW turbine can be used both with fix-bottom and floating system applications. The MySE 16.0-242, which was recently certified by DNV and China General Certification Center (CGC) for design, is scheduled for full prototype rollout in 2022. The company expects it will be followed by prototype installation in the first half of 2023 and commercial production in the first half of 2024.