The wind developer behind the world’s largest working wind turbines has said the size of its giant offshore blades, currently in UK waters, will double again within seven years. Dong Energy will officially open the second phase of its giant Burbo Bank offshore wind farm off the coast of Merseyside coast later today by showcasing its 8MW turbines, the largest ever used. The 258MW Burbo Bank project includes 32 turbines which stand almost 640 feet high, taller than the Gherkin in London, across an area the size of 5824 football pitches. The Danish wind developer says that the 262 foot blades, each the equivalent of nine double decker London buses, generates enough electricity from a single rotation to power the average British home for 29 hours.
Dong Energy has said that offshore blades could double in size within seven years. The energy company has just completed 258 Merseyside project off the coast of MW Burbo Bank, with 32 640 ft high turbines that feature blades measuring 262 ft long. Benj Sykes, the UK boss for Dong Energy, said that by 2024, the company could be producing blades twice the size of those just unveiled. “If you wind the clock back four or five years this scale of technology was considered very ambitious...It’s very difficult to say where we will ultimately get to,” he said.