Giant wind turbine fails in rare weather test in China
The largest wind turbine in the world, the MySE18.X-20MW, was damaged during testing. Mingyang Smart Energy recently launched it in China. According to a statement, the turbine was exposed to extraordinary weather conditions, and lessons were learned from the test.
Recharge has reported details. The MySE18.X-20MW turbine is the largest facility of its type in the world and has been undergoing testing for several months, with a maximum capacity of 20 megawatts. During testing, unforeseen violent weather conditions subjected the turbine to loads that caused its damage. Pictures of the broken rotor blades are circulated online.
Huge turbine damaged
Mingyang emphasises that the incident during testing is a valuable experience for further improving the model before it becomes available on the market. Fortunately, the damage to the turbine caused only material losses. Just a month ago, the company's president posted a video on LinkedIn showing the MySE18.X-20MW turbine operating at full power.
Was supposed to withstand typhoons
Mingyang stated that an accident analysis concluded that the turbine was exposed to "extreme, abnormal conditions" during testing. As a result, the blades experienced unforeseen overloads and consequently broke. No further details were provided. At this point, one can only speculate whether the turbine was poorly designed from the start or if a system failure led to, for example, the rotor speeding beyond limits and safety systems failing to activate.
The turbine was installed on 28 August. The manufacturer had previously claimed that the MySE18.X-20MW would withstand harsh weather conditions, and special technology ensured its resilience against typhoons blowing at 110-119 knots.
