There's some pretty good news for green energy as the world’s largest wind turbine has just been switched on.
In the announcement by the China Three Gorges Corporation, the energy firm revealed that the MySE 16-260 turbine was the first of its kind to be installed at the offshore site.
Standing at a staggering 500ft (152m) tall, the mega-turbine looms over the Taiwan Strait and is also the turbine of its size to be linked up to a commercial grid.
Installed on July 19, experts hope that the device will be able to produce up to 16 megawatts of energy for homes near Fujian Province.
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If that weren’t impressive enough, each blade is 403ft (123m) long – which is rough twice the length of a standard American football pitch.
Weighing in at an insane 54 tons each, the blades will cover an area of nearly 540,000 square feet (50,000 square meters) as they rotate and generate enough electricity to power an estimated 36,000 homes per year.
Experts also suggest that the energy generated could save up to 54,000 tons of carbon dioxide, when compared to traditional coal power plants.
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Whilst you shouldn’t throw caution to the wind just yet, the emergence of mega-turbines is a huge boost in the fight against climate change.
The huge turbine has already withstood its first major test: Typhoon Talim. The tropical storm battered parts of East Asia earlier this month, but the MySE 16-260 turbine was unphased by the high winds.
In fact, the company behind the turbine, Mingyang Smart Energy, suggested that the device could withstand ‘extreme wind speeds of 79.8 [meters per second]’ in a LinkedIn post.
Understandably, state-owned energy firm China Three Gorges Corporation is already looking to instal more mega-turbines at other offshore wind farms.
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Executive Director Lei Lei Zengjuan told press: “In the next step, the 16 [megawatt] unit will be applied in batches in the second phase of the Zhangpu Liuao Offshore Wind Farm Project constructed by China Three Gorges Corporation.”
Meanwhile, other countries are also beginning to roll out mega-turbines.
The US is already building Vineyard Wind 1, a massive offshore wind farm with 13-megawatt GE Haliade-X turbines.
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Across the pond in Scandinavia, Denmark also constructing an artificial island for wind turbines in a similar project.
It seems countries are finally getting wind of how to tackle climate change, as green alternatives are now generating up to 33 percent of global electricity.
The news comes amid the ongoing deadly heatwave and wildfires in mainland Europe, as climate change begins to take its toll.
Topics: Climate Change, Technology, Environment
Katherine Sidnell