Last year, the next generation of wind turbines and their componentry were pushed to their limits in utility-standard prototype trials and long hours on test rigs. Now a range of 6-8MW machines are battle-ready, bristling with blades eclipsing the wingspans of the largest commercial airliners and powered by drivetrains that can cope with the torque of industrial rock crushers.

The biggest of them, MHI-Vestas’ 8MW V164, is, after many years, finally set to see first orders inked this year, after the joint venture leased Vestas’ fabrication halls on the Isle of Wight, off southern England, to build the giant turbine’s 80-metre blades.

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