20 Megawatt wind turbines are feasible, according to a new report from the EU-funded UpWind project, published today at the EWEA 2011 Annual Event in Brussels.
The UpWind project explored the design limits of upscaling wind turbines to 20 Megawatt (MW) and found that they would have rotor diameters of around 200 metres, compared to some 120 metres on today’s 5 MW turbines.
Such turbines could be a solution for expanding Europe’s offshore wind energy capacity, providing several times more electricity at lower costs than today’s turbines.
EWEA forecasts that wind energy will meet 26-34% of Europe’s electricity demand power by 2030, with almost as much electricity coming from offshore turbines as from those onshore.
20 MW machines could be a cost-efficient way of reaching these levels of production. However, according to the UpWind report published today, the 20 MW turbine requires a new, innovative, tailored design to make it work.
“UpWind found that making a 20 MW machine is not as simple as just upscaling today’s 5 MW turbines,” points out Jos Beurskens of the Netherlands’ Energy Research Centre (ECN), who led the project along with the UpWind Coordinator Peter Hjuler Jensen from the Danish Technical University Risoe DTU. “We identified key innovations to the design, materials and way the turbine is operated”, said Beurskens.
Amongst the main innovations UpWind suggests for a 20 MW wind turbine are:
