The world’s largest wind turbine, manufactured by China’s energy provider Mingyang Smart Energy Group, just two weeks after its completion in the South China province of Hainan, faced the challenge of the extremely strong winds of super-intense Typhoon Yagi – and survived intact and working.
The wind turbine, named MySE 18.X-20 MW, adopts a flexible power design that can provide a maximum power of 20 megawatts (MW), demonstrating China’s offshore wind sector’s ability to deliver 20MW projects.
In addition, the turbine also boasts the world’s largest rotor diameter, which ranges from 260 to 292 metres, with a sweeping area of 66,966 square metres, equivalent to the size of nine football courts.
Measured by the annual average wind speed of 8.5 metres per second, the annual power generation of this unit can reach 80 million kilowatt-hours, which is equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 66,000 tonnes, and providing annual electricity consumption for 96,000 residents.
Moreover, the wind turbine is designed with an enhanced capability against typhoons that can handle a category 17 typhoon, or the highest scale typhoon measured by China Metrological Administration, which Yagi was categorized as.
This enhanced capacity stood the test as Yagi hit the South China coast last weekend, with Hainan in the eye of the storm.
But while MySE 18.X-20 MW stood tall throughout the typhoon, several other wind turbines in Hainan and Guangdong provinces broke under its strain. Some smaller turbines, made by China Huaneng and build at the cost of 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) each, were damaged as their wind towers broke in the storm. Still, the majority of wind turbines stayed intact.
Yagi highlights how extreme weather events can pose threats to renewable energy projects, especially those in coastal areas, which are generally at greater risk than those inland, and the importance of catastrophe insurance.
Future renewables, such as offshore wind or floating solar, may need to strengthen their ability to survive typhoons and other climate disasters – and their insurance protection.
