It's a monster, world's largest wind turbine means business

By Matthew Griffin Earth and Energy 10th February 2017

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

The cost of renewable energy is beginning to fall as the technologies mature, now the world’s largest wind turbine wants to step out from solar power’s shadow

Wind energy is one of the most promising renewable energy resources in the world, right after solar which last year took the crown in 58 countries for being the cheapest form of energy, and now it’s about to get another boost thanks to a behemoth of a turbine built by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind that can generate enough electricity in 24 hours to power a home for two decades.

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I’ll take two!

The wind turbine in question is the V164-8.0Mw, which can generate a whopping 216,000 kWh of energy every 24 hours and if there were a thousand of them, out at sea for example like the farm that’s being built off the coast of New York, then they could support several thousand homes with the energy that they generate in a single day.

Standing at 220 meters (722 feet) in height, the V164 offshore wind turbine is the biggest in the world. Each of the propellers on the turbine is 80 meters (263 feet) in length and weighs about 38 tons. As a result, the total area that is covered by the wind turbine when spinning is larger than the famous London Eye in the UK.

As for what the existence of this monster means for renewable energy, it will have a considerable impact on the number of turbines needed in order to produce the level of power that any given region requires, and that could then lead to an increase in energy production and a reduction in the cost per KwH households have to pay so watch this space – or the coastline – and in the meantime I’m off to make some space in the garden.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.