- This is teh first subsidy-free wind project in Germany.
- Vestas is set to release the 15MW turbine in 2024.
EnBW has picked Vestas’ new 15MW turbine – the largest in the world – as the preferred option for the 900MW He Dreiht project in the German North Sea, which will be developed without subsidies.
Vestas’ 15 MW turbine is set to be the largest globally when it comes into use in 2024. The turbine has a wingspan of over 230 metres allowing it to sweep an area of 43,742 square metres and provide power for about 20,000 households.
Vestas plans to deploy the turbine in both the US and Asian offshore wind market, especially as governments have set ambitious wind targets in these regions. Large turbines are essential for the offshore wind sector to remain sustainable as countries phase out subsidies that have helped the industry grow since the 1990s.
“In a time where the whole world is talking about how we address the energy transition, this is one of the important answers: that you can have a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) that is below gas, oil, nuclear,” Vestas’ chief executive stated. Large wind turbines are more efficient; as a result, farms require fewer units which lower costs.
Vestas, a traditional onshore turbine producer, plans to rapidly expand in the offshore wind industry following taking full ownership of a joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.