A wind turbine in Denmark has just set a new world record for the most amount of energy ever produced in the space of 24 hours. The 720-foot tall turbine features 35-ton blades and produced a huge 216,000 kWh of energy within a one day period. This amount equals to enough energy needed to power an average American household for a period of 20 years. The giant turbine is situated off the coast of Østerild in Denmark and is currently setting a new standard for wind power success, according to recent reports.
MHI Vestas Offshore Wind is a joint venture between Vestas Wind Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and revealed the nine-megawatt prototype at the end of last year. The machine is called V164-8.0 MW and is an updated and improved version of the company’s 8 MW model, which has allowed it to produce even more energy under favorable wind conditions. The machine produced the new energy record on December 1st, creating 215,999.1 kWh over a 24 hour period. This is a first for commercially-available offshore wind turbines and signals a good future for the upcoming energy production. The company is now hoping to increase the energy production of its customers’ fleets even further, but with fewer turbines and at a cheaper cost. The single new machine is part of a much broader push to get more out of the money that is put in for offshore turbines in general.
Similarly to other state-of-the-art models, the V164-8.0 MW is an impressive sight to see. It features three individual blades, each of which measure 262 feet (80 meters) in length, which is the equivalent of nine city buses. Each blade weighs 35 tons and the total measuring of the area that the blades sweep is 227,380 square feet (21,125 square meters), which is roughly the same size as the London Eye ferris wheel. The hub is 460 feet (140 meters) high, and the structure stands at 721 feet (220 meters) tall when a blade is fully extended overhead.
Denmark is currently a leader in the field of offshore wind power, which is a position that it looks like they will maintain as development continues so successfully as it has with V164-8.0 MW. In 2015, the country’s wind output exceeded the national demand, which is an impressive accomplishment, and more so considering that they are a relatively small industry in Europe. Reports claim that it will still be a long way off before wind power takes over the current major energy sources in the US, where the industry is only just starting to gain a toehold. Together with this, although wind power is incredibly efficient and clean, this form of renewable energy is unlikely to topple solar power, which is currently starting to make a huge impact, especially in the US, China, and the Middle East. But despite this, the latest broken record indicates that offshore wind definitely has some powerful potential, and the development of this sustainable technology is great news for creating cleaner energy throughout the world, whilst decreasing unsustainable usage of fossil fuels and huge power plants.
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