China Rolls Out 17MW Floating Wind Turbine Prototype

The world’s most powerful direct-drive floating offshore wind turbine, rated at 17 MW and co-developed by Dongfang Electric Corporation and China Huaneng, has been rolled out in China.

With the highest single-unit capacity and the largest rotor diameter globally, the milestone marks a new breakthrough in China’s offshore wind power equipment manufacturing and provides vital technological support for expanding into deepsea offshore wind development.

The turbine has a rotor diameter of 262 meters and a swept area of about 53,000 square meters, roughly equivalent to 7.5 standard football fields.

The hub height reaches approximately 152 meters, comparable to a 50-story residential building.

Compared to other floating offshore wind turbines, the unit features superior motion adaptability, capable of maintaining power generation even under greater platform tilts, with a time availability rate exceeding 99%.

It is also designed to withstand waves over 24 meters high and survive Category 17 super typhoons.

The turbine is the first to adopt domestically produced large-diameter main shaft bearings. Key components such as blades, generator, converter, and transformer are also fully localized.

“The R&D team successfully developed coupled simulation technology for floating wind systems and high-fidelity model testing technology. They overcame significant challenges in high-precision manufacturing and assembly of blades and low-speed permanent magnet direct-drive motors, achieving the development of a high-capacity, high-reliability direct-drive wind turbine and promoting coordinated advancement and technological upgrading across China’s wind power industry chain,” Dongfang said.

The unit is capable of generating 68 million kWh of clean electricity annually, enough to meet the annual electricity needs of approximately 40,000 households. Next steps include demonstration and validation deployment.