Denmark breaks Guinness World Record: Largest Wind Turbine

Aarhus, Denmark – February 10, 2017 – The wind turbine Vestas V164 can generate a whopping 216,000 kWh of energy in the space of 24 hours; each of the propellers on the turbine is 80 meters (263 feet) in length and weighs about 38 tons; standing at 220 meters (722 feet) in height, it sets the new world record for the Biggest Wind Turbine.

Photo: MHI Vestas Offshore Wind unveiled its uprated 8 MW wind turbine, enabling its 8 MW platform to reach 9 MW at specific site conditions. The company’s prototype at Østerild broke the energy generation record for a commercially available offshore wind turbine, producing 216,000 kWh (actual figures 215,999.1 kWh) over a 24 hour period.

The Guinness World Records world record for the largest wind turbine is the Enercon E-126, which has a hub height of 135 m (443 ft) and a rotor diameter of 127 m (416 ft). Its capacity is rated at 6 MW, (or 20 million kilowatt hours each year) – enough to fuel 5,000 households of four in Europe! The wind generator was manufactured by Enercon GmbH (Germany) and installed on the Rysumer Nacken in Emden, Germany, and began operation in November 2007.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the Most powerful solar chimney, set by the Enviromission’s (Australia) prototype solar chimney power station in Manzanares, Spain, which produced 50 kW of electricity between 1982 and 1989. It consisted of a large area of greenhouses, in which air, heated by the Sun, expanded upwards through a 200 m-tall (656 ft) central tower, powering turbines as it escaped into the atmosphere.

The blades on the 9 MW turbine weigh in at over 34 metric tons (38 tons) and measure an impressive 80 meters (263 feet) in length.

The company’s prototype at Østerild broke the energy generation record for a commercially available offshore wind turbine on Thursday 1st December 2016, producing 216,000 kWh (actual figures 215,999.1 kWh) over a 24 hour period.

About the V164-8.0 MW

• 8 MW rated power, with an optimal rotor to generator ratio
• 80 m blades, the equivalent of nine double decker London buses
• Each blade weighs 35 tonnes
• Swept area of 21,124 m2, larger than the London Eye
• The nacelle is 20 m long, 8 m wide and 8 m high, weighing approximately 390 tonnes
• Approximate hub height of 105 m (Østerild prototype 140 m)
• Approximate tip height of 187 m (Østerild prototype 220 m)
• Reduces operational and maintenance costs by enabling customers to run fewer, larger turbines
• World record production by a single wind turbine of 192 MWh in 24-hour period

The new V164 can reach a rated power of 9 MW depending on specific site conditions. The increased energy production per wind turbine will add greater value for many projects and save on Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) costs as fewer machines will be needed to meet the park capacity.

“We are committed to delivering turbine technology that is in line with the development of our industry, based on our 20+ years of offshore experience. Reliability remains a key enabler, and our approach to developing our existing platform supports this strategy,” said Torben Hvid Larsen, CTO.