Wind Energy – Largest Wind Turbine Installed
China Three Gorges Corporation said last Wednesday it had installed the world’s first 16MW offshore wind turbine, off the coast of Fujian, China.
Located at Pingtan Zhangpu Liuao wind farm, the GWH252-16MW turbine has a blade length of 124 meters and a hub height of 152 meters.
The news was also confirmed by the wind turbine maker Goldwind, which said: “On June 28, Goldwind successfully hoisted the GWH252-16MW offshore wind turbine in Pingtan, China. The turbine, which set the record for the world’s largest single-unit capacity, biggest impeller diameter, and lightest weight per MW, is yet another proof of Goldwind’s industry-leading position in manufacturing and innovative capabilities.”
According to available information, one GWH252-16MW offshore wind turbine can produce more than 66 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
The Three Gorges Group’s Bai He Tan jack-up installation vessel was responsible for the hoisting task.
Due to the turbine size the vessel installed the tower in four sections. The nacelle and the rotor hub also required two separate lifts, plus another three for the blades. During the operations, Bai He Tan was fed by two heavy transportation vessels, one carrying the tower, nacelle and rotor and a second with the blades.
Overall, Bai He Tan stayed 5.2 days on-site to install the entire turbine and performed nine separate lifts. To put the number in perspective, an 11-MW turbine requires just five lifts, and observed installations have a median of 1.45 days, in line with previous turbine models.
