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Energy

Record energy haul: Offshore prototype operates over capacity for 24 hrs

By Loz Blain
October 11, 2022
Record energy haul: Offshore prototype operates over capacity for 24 hrs
A Siemens-Gamesa offshore wind turbine prototype has recorded a stunning daily energy record of 359 Megawatt-hours in 24 hours
A Siemens-Gamesa offshore wind turbine prototype has recorded a stunning daily energy record of 359 Megawatt-hours in 24 hours
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A Siemens-Gamesa offshore wind turbine prototype has recorded a stunning daily energy record of 359 Megawatt-hours in 24 hours
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A Siemens-Gamesa offshore wind turbine prototype has recorded a stunning daily energy record of 359 Megawatt-hours in 24 hours

A prototype wind turbine has recorded an extraordinary single-day renewable energy production total, bringing in a massive 359 megawatt-hours in a 24-hour time period. To get there, it had to operate over its rated capacity, essentially all day long.

The Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD is one of the world's biggest wind turbines, equalling the 14-MW nominal capacity of GE's biggest Haliade-X turbines, and only just trailing behind the giant 15-MW Vestas rigs and the world's outright offshore champion, the monstrous MingYang 16 MW.

Slated for serial production in 2024, the SG 14-222 DD uses three colossal 108-meter (354-ft) blades, creating a 39,000-sq-m (420,000-sq-ft) swept circle. And while it's nominally rated at a 14 MW capacity, it offers a "power boost" function that can take energy production up to 15 MW.

This power boost function, according to Siemens Gamesa Senior Product Manager Peter Esmann, monitors site-specific conditions and stays active about 98% of the time, only shutting down in storm-force winds or excessive turbulence, at which point the turbine's capacity drops back to 14 MW. While it's designed for offshore deployment, this prototype was built on land, at the end of 2021 in Østerild, Denmark, and that's where it's achieved its production record.

The reported daily total is just 1 MWh short of the theoretical maximum 360 MWh this turbine would harvest if it ran at its peak capacity for 24 hours straight. So it must've been an absolutely perfect day. The 359 MWh it managed would supply the daily energy used by 12,414 average US homes.

Check out this monster turbine being installed in the video below, including several gratuitous "driving a massive turbine blade down a road" shots.

The SG 14-222 DD prototype has been fully installed and is ready for commissioning.

Source: Siemens Gamesa (twitter)

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EnergySiemensWind turbineWind PowerOffshore WindRenewable Energy
5 comments
Loz Blain
Loz Blain
Loz has been one of our most versatile contributors since 2007, and has since proven himself as a photographer, videographer, presenter, producer and podcast engineer, as well as a senior features writer. Joining the team as a motorcycle specialist, he's covered just about everything for New Atlas, concentrating lately on clean energy, AI, humanoid robotics, next-gen aircraft, and the odd bit of music and automotive. In February 2024, he stepped up to lead New Atlas as Editorial Director, and he's as curious as anyone to see how that pans out.

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5 comments
Rocky Stefano
$60 million per unit for the Virginia deal just signed.
paul314
Running near capacity 300 days a year, with electricity at 10 cent a kwh, back of the envelope says approximate revenue $10M a year.
christopher
@paul314 - 10c/kWh? Have you been asleep for a few decades? The US average is 17c now, with plenty of places paying more than 20, some even double that... and price is still *rapidly* rising.
ljaques
What is the expected lifetime of one of these ghastly expensive beasties, anyway? Will they actually pay themselves off over time? That's a helluva lot of juice to produce. Then again, 359mWh is one huge daily output. At an average of $200/mWh, that would take awhile. (2-1/3 years with the wind blowing perfectly all day every day.)
paul314
@christopher but not nearly all of that 20+ cents per kwh gets captured by the primary generators. Back of the envelope is a conservative look to see whether you can be pretty sure that borrowing to build and buy units will be repaid over, say, 10 years. If not, people aren't likely to do the deal.