Land-based wind turbines are slowly increasing the size and diameter of their rotors. The longer the blades, the higher the noise level and overall environmental impact. There are no disgruntled residents at sea who could be harmed by this. Therefore, offshore wind turbines are growing in size without limit. But onshore wind turbines also have their own records. Recently, the Chinese company Sany Renewable Energy installed the world’s largest installation with a rotor with a diameter of 270 m.
Image source: Sany Renewable Energy
The previous record was held by an onshore wind turbine with a rotor diameter of 240 m – a 12 MW installation from Goldwind, deployed in 2023. Sany Renewable Energy easily broke this record by installing a 15 MW SI-270150 generator with blades each 131 m long. In addition, the company says its blades are partially recyclable, which improves environmental friendliness since many polymer components of wind turbines are difficult to recycle.
In general, there are few places on land with persistent strong winds, which is one of the reasons why onshore wind turbines do not tend to be gigantic in size. But the situation is gradually changing. For example, Sany Renewable Energy this year began mass production of 131 m long blades and does not plan to stop there. The company also claims that its new turbines will be able to operate for 25-30 years or longer with minor upgrades, which promises to significantly recoup the investment in installing new wind turbines.
Compared to offshore wind turbines, Sany’s new installation looks relatively modest, ranking seventh in size in the world. The largest operating installation belongs to another Chinese company – Mingyang Smart Energy, which built a 20-MW offshore turbine with a rotor with a diameter of 292 m. In 2025, Mingyang promises to build an even more powerful and larger offshore wind turbine – 22-MW with a rotor with a diameter of 310 m.