This image shows Vestas wind turbines used in a Russian facility.
Valery Matytsin | TASS | Getty Images
Vestas announced on Wednesday plans for a 15-megawatt (MW) marine wind turbine, with the Danish company hoping to install a prototype next year before increasing production in 2024.
According to the Aarhus-based company, the gigantic V236-15.0 MW turbine will be able to generate approximately 80 gigawatt hours per year.
That, he says, would be enough to feed approximately 20,000 European households, saving more than 38,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in the process.
Vestas is the latest company to move forward with the development of a large marine wind turbine. GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X can be set to 12, 13 or 14 MW, while Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy works on a 14 MW turbine that can also be increased to 15 MW if needed.
As technology has developed, the size of wind turbines has increased. In a recent report, the industrial body WindEurope said that the average nominal capacity of turbines installed in Europe last year was 8.2 MW, 5% more than in 2019. The capacity refers to the maximum amount a turbine can produce, not necessarily the one it is currently generating.
Vestas also released its annual report for 2020 on Wednesday. The firm said its profit for the year reached 771 million euros ($ 934 million), slightly better than the 700 million d ‘euros it reported for 2019. Vestas’ revenue in 2020 reached 14.8 billion euros, 22% more than in 2019.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday, CEO Henrik Andersen said he was pleased the company could operate despite what he described as “challenging the conditions of the Covid-19”.
The European offshore wind sector attracted more than 26 billion euros last year, a record figure, according to WindEurope.
In an announcement Monday, the Brussels-based organization said the cash raised would fund a total of 7.1 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, with projects to be developed and built over the coming years.