China’s wind and solar equipment giant Mingyang Smart Energy Group is developing a 50-megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine that would be the world’s most powerful and exceed current single-turbine capacity by a mile.
Mingyang is working on the two-headed 50-MW turbine, which is planned to enter mass production next year, the company’s chairman Zhang Chuanwei told a group of reporters at an industry conference in Beijing, as carried by Bloomberg.
In a first phase of the project, Mingyang plans to start manufacturing in 2026 the giant turbine at a port in China’s southeast coastal province of Guangdong. Initial manufacturing capacity is expected at 50 units per year, expected to be increased to 150 units annually in a second phase of the project, Zhang said in the group interview with reporters.
The cost of the new turbine will also be much lower than the costs in Europe’s offshore turbines, according to Mingyang’s chairman.
The Chinese firm plans to offer a cost of below $1,404 (10,000 Chinese yuan) per kilowatt. This would be much lower than about $7,000 for the current offshore wind turbines in Europe and about $4,000 in China, Zhang said.
China continues to advance wind and offshore wind energy and equipment production, while developed economies, especially the U.S. and Europe, are struggling with regulatory and cost challenges.
In the U.S., offshore wind is all but dead after the Trump Administration’s assault on nearly completed projects offshore the East Coast.
In Europe, offshore wind struggles with soaring costs and lackluster interest in recent government auctions despite continued EU support for renewable energy sources.
In one of the latest setbacks for Europe’s wind industry, Danish turbine maker Vestas has put on hold plans to open a blade manufacturing factory in Poland, the leading European manufacturer told the Financial Times last week, saying that the plan to open the facility in 2026 was “paused due to lower than projected demand for offshore wind in Europe.”
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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