Record-breaking wind turbine can power 40,000 homes

Just a dozen of the 18MW turbines could provide enough power for the entire population of Liverpool

Chinese manufacturer CSSC Haizhuang unveiled the motor for an 18MW offshore wind turbine (CSSC)

Engineers in China have unveiled the world’s most powerful wind turbine, capable of powering up to 40,000 homes for an entire year.

The 18 megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine prototype, built by Chinese manufacturer CSSC Haizhuang, features a rotor measuring 260 metres in diameter – equivalent to the height of world’s current most powerful wind turbine.

The H260-18MW turbine will be able to produce 44.8 kilowatt hours of electricity per revolution, and up to 74,000 MWh of electricity annually when operational. In a news release, CSSC said it marked a “new milestone” for renewable energy.

“The H260-18MW turbine will make a great contribution to the improvement of turbine capacity and efficiency, as well as reducing the LCOE [levelized cost of energy] of offshore wind farms, and has market prospects in high-speed wind and deep-sea areas,” the firm said in a statement.

CSSC Haizhuang said its latest wind turbine would also reduce coal consumption by 25,000 tons per year, eliminating an estimated 61,000 tons of annual carbon emissions.

CSSC added that the new turbine would have “far-reaching significance” for China’s energy transition to renewable sources, with the aim of reaching its ‘30/60’ target of hitting peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.

Renewable energy saw a record-breaking year in 2022, as global electricity generation from renewables overtook coal for the first time.

In the UK, wind, solar, biomass and hydro power accounted for 40 per cent of the country’s electricity share last year, up from 35 per cent in 2021.

The increase in clean energy production meant Britain also became a net exporter of electricity for the first time in more than a decade, with an estimated 1.9TWh of exported energy generating more than £3 billion for the UK economy.