Yet that vision has now been transformed into reality. After years of anticipation, the gigantic components of super-heavyweight offshore wind turbines — led by MHI Vestas’ 8MW V164-8.0 and Siemens’ 7MW SWT-7.0-154 — will be soon begin massing quayside in Denmark, Germany and the UK, ready to head out to sea to be assembled in their hundreds.
To judge by the performance of the prototypes, these gargantuan machines will be a game-changing success — the driving force to cutting the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) of offshore wind to well under €100 ($110) per MWh.
However,
