What is the current largest single wind turbine ever built? I know of a GE turbine circa 2003 that is rated for 3.6 MW, but I thought there were offshore turbines planned as large as 100 MW for a single turbine? Please let me know. Jim B., Alberta, Canada
Jim, Germany’s REpower (Corp) offers the world’s largest wind turbine, which is a 5 MW machine with a three-bladed rotor at a diameter of 126 meters. The US Department of Energy’s RD&D program supported the Mod -5B built by Boeing, which was a 3.5 MW turbine with a two bladed rotor with a diameter of 97.5 meters that operated form July 1987 to March 1992. According to USDOE’s Bob Thresher, European researchers are proposing an R&D collaborative project to study and build a test unit for offshore applications in the 10MW size range. Scott
