Fujian installs world's first 20-megawatt offshore wind turbines

Fujian province has completed the installation of the world's first 20-megawatt offshore wind turbines, marking a significant breakthrough in ultra-large turbine engineering and offshore construction capability.

Located off the coast of Zhangpu county, the project is a centerpiece of China's national key research and development program. By scaling up capacity, the project aims to overcome the logistical and operational bottlenecks that have historically limited the deployment of ultra-large-scale wind units.

The turbine integrates advances in lightweight engineering, intelligent monitoring, and aerodynamic efficiency, utilizing an entirely domestic supply chain.

The turbine's design emphasizes efficiency, maintaining a weight of under 40 metric tons per megawatt, more than 20 percent below the industry average. This reduction significantly lowers the complexity of offshore lifting and cuts foundation construction costs. For safety, the turbine utilizes lidar and blade-root sensors to enable autonomous operation and early-warning systems in unmanned environments. Independently developed airfoils also allow for a wind energy utilization coefficient of 0.49, maximizing power capture.

The height of the hub center is 174 meters, roughly equivalent to a 58-story building. Each blade measures 147 meters, with a rotor diameter of 300 meters, sweeping an area comparable to nearly 10 standard soccer fields.

Located more than 30 kilometers offshore at depths exceeding 40 meters, the 20-megawatt unit is designed to outperform mainstream 16-megawatt models in both power density and cost-efficiency. Once connected to the grid, it is projected to generate over 80 million kilowatt-hours annually, enough to power approximately 44,000 households.