VATIS UPDATE Article

MHI Vestas, Denmark, specializes in making offshore wind turbines has installed a new wind turbine capable of producing 9.5 megawatts (MW) of electricity on its own – enough to power more than 8,000 homes in the United Kingdom. Its V164-9.5 is an upgrade to the V164, which can produce 8 MW of electricity. The only changes needed were to install a redesigned gearbox and a new cooling system.

The V164’s three blades are each about 80 meters long, which is about the length of a soccer field. Each blade weighs about 35,000 kilograms. When they rotate, they cover an area that’s more than 10 baseball fields. Typically, such large turbines are only used offshore, where it’s easier to install them without a backlash from nearby residents, who have been known to complain about noise and ungainly views.