'World's largest onshore wind turbine': China's Envision to launch 10MW giant

Manufacturer unveils double-digit-rated machine for use in northern Chinese projects, say state outlets

Chinese OEM Envision Energy has unveiled a 10MW onshore wind giant that marks a new global power high-mark for turbines on land, according to reports from China.

The 10MW machine, the EN-220/10MW, also has the world’s largest rotor diameter and is designed for deployment in China’s northern regions, said the government-owned China Daily and official Invest in China website, as well as multiple specialist media outlets.

If confirmed the move would be the latest uptick in a growing shift by Chinese wind OEMs such as Envision, Goldwind, MingYang and CSSC Haizhuang to power ratings far beyond those of western peers, both onshore and at sea.

Mingyang Smart Energy in January claimed a new wind industry milestone with the launch of what was then billed as “the world’s biggest onshore turbine” with a rated capacity of 8.5MW. Mingyang has also led the charge to ever larger offshore machines saying it would look “beyond 18MW” with its latest product launch.

Envision, which also reportedly launched an 8.35MW model, is among the most ambitious of China’s turbine makers both in terms of its international profile – it is set to supply multi-gigawatt orders to India – and its broader technology approach that encompasses advanced AI, energy management and storage.

Its founder and CEO Lei Zhang told Recharge in an exclusive interview that “the Envision wind turbine is not about the wind turbine, it’s about energy, the modern energy system, in which, fundamentally, the original force is going to be wind and solar”.

Renewable energy head of research at Brinckmann, Shashi Barla, in an article for Recharge wrote that he expects the Chinese offshore wind race to continue for some time to comewith 25MW turbines on the cards at sea.

Other Chinese giants to follow suit

Barla said the Envision 10MW onshore move would strengthen the hand of an OEM that he said rose to number one spot in China last year after securing 20GW of orders.

“Envision joins companies like Mingyang, Windey, SANY and CRRC, launching 8-plus MW onshore wind turbine models. We anticipate other Chinese OEMs will follow suit soon, in 2023," Barla said.

“These product introductions indicate a propensity of the Chinese OEMs to launch larger-rated turbines in the grid parity era. These turbines target high-medium wind-speed provinces like Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Gansu. Before the end of the 14th five-year plan, wind project investments in these provinces are expected to increase.”

Barla added: “Historically, Western turbine OEMs were leading the onshore megawatts rating race, but in 2022, the average onshore turbine rating in China surpassed the global average rating. Chinese OEMs will continue to lead the game during the next ten years.

“While western OEMs grapple with supply chain challenges in commercialising the 5.X/6.XMW platforms. Chinese OEMs have already produced the prototypes of 7.X/8.XMW in the past two months.”

Envision has been contacted for comment on the reports.