China turns on world’s largest offshore wind turbine with 20 MW capacity

China, one of the largest emitters of pollutant gases, also now operates the world’s largest wind turbine that is capable of generating 20 Mega Watt of clean electricity, which is enough to power 96,000 homes.

China, which is among the top produces and consumers of green energy, turned on the giant offshore wind turbine in August.

The 242-meter high wind turbine, with its 128-metre blades, installed by Mingyang Smart Energy in the South China Sea province of Hainan, however, is reported to have brought about changes in microclimate in the surrounding areas.

While wind turbines can affect the flows of wind in the installed area, it now seems that it can also impact microclimate in the surrounding area, depending on the size and scale of operation.

Apart from its possible impact on climate, the setting up of such huge offshore wind turbines offers the advantage of significantly increasing the potential of offshore wind energy projects and making them technically feasible.

Huge turbines help reduce the number of installations needed to generate electricity compared with smaller turbines, which makes these projects energy efficient as well.

The turbine installed by Mingyang Smart Energy is said to be capable of withstanding gusts of up to 125 km and are suited for locations with medium-to-high wind speeds, especially areas that are prone to typhoons.

The problem, however, is mitigating the effects of giant wind turbines on local climate and wind flows.

New technologies that can upscale generating capacity necessitates environment audit to evaluate their effects on environment to be sustainable.