Largest wind turbine
Who
Mingyang Smart Energy, MySE 16-260
What
260 dimension(s)
Where
China ()
When

The largest wind turbine is the MySE 16-260, built by Mingyang Smart Energy (China) for the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG). The MySE 16-260 has a rotor diameter of 260 m (853 ft), with three 123 m (406 ft) long blades and a 14m (46 ft) diameter hub, and a generating capacity of 16 megawatts. It was installed at an offshore wind farm in Pingtan, Fujian Province, China, and connected to the power grid on 18 July 2023.


Each full rotation of the blades generates around 34.2 kWh, which is enough to power a typical European home for around five days. Over the course of the year, it is expected to generate around 67 gigawatt-hours, which is enough for 80,000 households according to figures provided by Mingyang (annual electricity consumption varies significantly from market to market). The generator itself weighs 385 tonnes (385,000 kg), and is mounted in the hub of the turbine, around 152 m (498 ft) above the sea surface.

The Chinese offshore wind farm industry has to contend with more extreme weather conditions than its European counterpart. Most of the coastline suitable for offshore wind installations in China is also periodically subject to typhoons. As a result, the MySE 16-260 was designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 287 km/h (178 mph) – equal to a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.