“Based on current technology, 25MW appears to be the largest possible structure. With a holistic approach, a 25MW turbine and substructure could achieve 20% weight reduction and 16% cost reductions,” says Luca Oggiano, Research Scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Energy Technology (IFE).
IFE is one of three scientific partners in the Upscale project, which was established to build knowledge on the future generation of very large offshore wind turbines. The two other scientific partners are The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the University of Texas, Dallas.
Commenting on his own prediction that the world will never see an offshore wind turbine larger than 25MW, Oggiano reminded his audience that researchers previously have predicted that 6MW would be the maximum size of wind turbines.
“A 2016 report predicted that the world would see 11MW turbines in 2030. Today, 15MW turbines are already in production. The industry is moving fast, and faster than researchers imagined only a few years ago,” said Oggiano.
Re-iterating his initial claim that offshore wind turbines will never be larger than 25MW, Oggiano also noted: “In 5 years we may be proven completely wrong.”
