Siemens Gamesa builds 21.5 megawatt wind turbine in Denmark

The race for the largest wind turbine continues, and Europe could soon be in the lead again: Spanish manufacturer Siemens Gamesa is building a wind turbine with a capacity of 21.5 megawatts in Denmark.

The wind turbine with the designation SG DD-276 has a rotor with a diameter of 276 meters and a swept area of around 60,000 square meters. Each rotor blade measures 135 meters. The prototype is expected to produce enough electricity to supply 7,000 Danish households.

The prototype wind turbine is being built at the Østerild test site on the north coast of the Danish mainland, as shown in recent images published by the online industry service Recharge. The Danish Energy Agency Enerigstyrelsen has issued the company with the necessary certificate. In Denmark, every wind turbine with an area of more than 5 square meters needs this.

The EU is supporting the project

Siemens Gamesa therefore has until the end of 2027 to test the prototype extensively and develop it to series production readiness. The project is being funded by the European Union to the tune of 30 million euros. According to the funding decision, the wind turbine should have gone into operation by the end of 2024.

Larger wind turbines deliver a higher output. This means that more electricity can be generated with fewer turbines in a wind farm. Manufacturers are therefore building ever larger rotors. The largest wind turbine currently in operation comes from the Chinese state-owned China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). It delivers an output of 20 megawatts and was recently put into operation in China.

The record hunt is in full swing: the Chinese company Mingyang Smart Energy is building one with an output of 22 megawatts. Chinese manufacturers Goldwind, Shanghai Electric and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) announced a wind turbine with 26 megawatts last fall, while Dongfang Electric announced one with 26 megawatts.

(wpl)