A wind turbine operated by Danish wind company Vestas set a new world record for the most clean energy produced by a single turbine in a 24-hour period.
According to Electrek, the V236-15.0 MW prototype turbine is the most powerful in the world and produced 363 megawatt-hours of energy in just 24 hours. A megawatt-hour can power a home in the U.S. for 1.2 months or provide 3,600 miles on an electric car, according to FreeingEnergy.
Vestas installed the 15-megawatt turbine in Denmark in December 2022 and leveled up to its full 15-megawatt power rating in April 2023. One of these turbines can generate 80 GWh per year — equivalent to roughly 20,000 European houses' worth of power. Another way of looking at the same data is that one turbine's yearly power is equivalent to removing 25,000 cars from the road and therefore almost 42,000 tons of carbon pollution, per Electrek.
The turbine rotor's diameter is 774 feet, and each blade measures 379 feet long. The turbine is also 919 feet tall, which makes it the tallest wind turbine on the planet, according to Electrek. New York is set to install versions of these turbines in the mid-2020s.
Generating clean energy like wind power is incredibly important for curbing the dangerous overheating of our planet. Dirty energy sources like petroleum directly cause pollution. For example, an average passenger car produces more than 10,000 pounds of carbon pollution per year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, so it's clear that providing alternative energy sources for industries like travel and commuting is essential for decreasing our pollution.
"Seven months into testing, we are excited to see the performance of the turbine at full power at continuously high wind," said Jesper Uth, Vestas' senior director of test and validation, on LinkedIn. "The verification campaign will continue to achieve the type certification and further demonstrate what a high-quality machine can deliver over time."
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