Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Mingyang goes beyond 18MW with its new offshore wind turbine

Chinese energy company Mingyang Smart Energy has released the next flagship offshore wind turbine – the MySE 18.X-28X.

The latest 140-meter-blade wind turbine boasts a rotor diameter above 280 meters and a 66,000m2 swept area equivalent to the area of nine football fields. Under an annual average wind speed of 8.5m/s, each turbine can generate 80 GWh of electricity per year. The company says it is sufficient to supply 96,000 residents while reducing CO2 emissions by 66,000 tonnes.

Going beyond the 18 MW threshold, MySE 18.X-28X is said to be the epitome of Mingyang’s innovations and comprehensive upgrade on the hybrid-drive technology. The modular and lightweight design, as well as the use of holographic sensing MPC and digital twin DTC technology, serve as the basis for MySE18.X-28X’s intelligent, efficient and reliable operations. Mingyang said the new wind turbine would handle the most extreme weather conditions in the ocean, including 17-point super typhoons with wind speeds of more than 56.1 m/s (202 km/h).

The trend towards the construction of giant wind turbines is explained by the fact that most of the costs of their installation fall on the arrangement of the foundation on the seabed. The greater the power of the wind generator, the smaller the specific weight of fixed costs per unit of electricity produced by it.

When compared to the installation of 13MW models, the higher output of the MySE18.X-28X would save 18 units required for a 1GW wind farm, shaving off construction costs by 120,000 – 150,000 USD/MW, Mingyang said in a statement. With the new MySE 18.X-28X, Mingyang claims it has taken a major step toward accelerating the green energy transition by driving LCoE reductions and technological breakthroughs for the offshore wind industry.

With the launch of the MySE 18.X-28X model, Mingyang has joined CSSC Haizhuang Wind Power, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), as the only two wind turbine manufacturers developing wind turbines with an individual capacity of 18 MW or more. Earlier this month, we wrote about CSSC Haizhuang’s new H260-18MW world’s largest wind turbine.

Mingyang is also currently developing a 16 MW offshore wind turbine model – the MySE 16.0-242, which is expected to be installed this year. The turbine model is scheduled to be commercially available in 2024.