Energy
Animation: The World’s Biggest Wind Turbines
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The World’s Biggest Wind Turbines
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Since the early 2000s, wind turbines have grown in size—in both height and blade lengths—to generate more energy per unit.
Today, the tallest turbines can reach over 200 meters (650 ft) in height and cost more than $12 million to manufacture and install.
The above infographic uses data compiled from company portfolios to showcase the biggest wind turbines currently being developed and to put these huge structures into perspective.
Blade Runners
The biggest turbines are all located over water. The so-called offshore turbines can be taller than those onshore, which means they can harness more wind energy and produce more electricity.
MingYang Smart Energy, a Chinese wind turbine manufacturer, is in the process of building the biggest wind turbine so far.
Their new MySE 16.0-242 model is still under construction and is expected to be online by 2026. It will be 264 meters tall, with a blade length 118 meters long and rotor diameter of 242 meters. It features a nameplate capacity of 16 megawatts that can power 20,000 homes per unit over a 25-year service life. The first commercial turbine will be installed at the MingYang Yangjiang Qingzhou Four offshore wind farm, which is in the South China Sea.
Here are four of the biggest wind turbine models on the market right now, the companies that are making them, and where the prototypes are being installed:
Model | Company | Nameplate capacity (MW) | Location | Height (m) | Blade Length (m) | Rotor Diameter (m) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MySE 16.0-242 | MingYang Smart Energy | 16 MW | 🇨🇳 | 264 | 118 | 242 |
SG 14-236 DD | Siemens Gamesa | 14 MW | 🇩🇰 | Site Specific | 115 | 236 |
Haliade-X | General Electric | 14 MW | 🇳🇱 | 260 | 107 | 220 |
V236-15.0 | Vestas | 15 MW | 🇩🇰 | 280 | 116 | 236 |
These huge structures can be two times taller than a typical turbine currently in operation, generating almost four times more energy.
Prototypes for two of the top four turbine models—the SG 14-236 DD and V236-15.0— are scheduled to be installed in 2022 in Denmark, a country that was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and is home to the world’s largest wind-turbine manufacturer, Vestas.
From our list, General Electric’s Haliade-X is the only turbine currently online; the prototype has been operating since October 2021 in the Netherlands.
Wind Energy’s Rapid Global Growth
Wind generated 6.6% of the world’s electricity in 2021, up from 3.5% in 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed, making it the fastest-growing source of electricity after solar.
A number of countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind energy penetration in their electricity grids.
Wind’s share of electricity generation was nearly 50% in Denmark and sits above 25% in countries such as Ireland, Uruguay, and Portugal. In the United States, wind supplied 8.4% of total electricity generation.
Country | Wind Share of Electricity (%) |
---|---|
🇩🇰 Denmark | 48% |
🇺🇾 Uruguay | 43% |
🇮🇪 Ireland | 33% |
🇵🇹 Portugal | 27% |
🇪🇸 Spain | 23% |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 21% |
🇩🇪 Germany | 20% |
🇬🇷 Greece | 20% |
🇰🇪 Kenya | 16% |
🇸🇪 Sweden | 16% |
Source: Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2022
Note: Countries with populations fewer than 3 million in 2021 were not included in this ranking.
The global wind turbine market size was valued at $53.4 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $98.4 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.3%.
As one of the fastest-growing segments of the energy sector, wind energy generation will continue to grow as wind turbines also scale up in size.
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Oil and Gas
How Affordable is Gas in Latin America?
This graphic looks at gas affordability in Latin America, showing how much a liter of gas costs in 19 countries, relative to average incomes.

How Affordable is Gas in Latin America?
As gas prices have risen around the world, not each region and country is impacted equally.
Globally, the average price for a liter of gas was $1.44 USD on June 13, 2022.
But the actual price at the pump, and how affordable that price is for residents, varies greatly from country to country. This is especially true in Latin America, a region widely regarded as one of the world’s most unequal regions in terms of its income and resource distribution.
Using monthly data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com as of May 2022, this graphic by Latinometrics compares gas affordability in different countries across Latin America.
Gas Affordability in 19 Different Latin American Countries
To measure gas affordability, Latinometrics took the price of a liter of gas in 19 different Latin American countries and territories, and divided those figures by each country’s average daily income, using salary data from Statista.
Out of the 19 regions included in the dataset, Venezuela has the most affordable gas on the list. In Venezuela, a liter of gas is equivalent to roughly 1.3% of the country’s average daily income.
Country | Gas price as of May 2022 (USD) | % of average daily income |
---|---|---|
🇳🇮 Nicaragua | $1.37 | 14.0% |
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | $1.41 | 12.6% |
🇧🇷 Brazil | $1.43 | 12.5% |
🇵🇾 Paraguay | $1.39 | 12.2% |
🇵🇪 Peru | $1.53 | 10.2% |
🇺🇾 Uruguay | $1.92 | 9.8% |
🇸🇻 El Salvador | $1.14 | 9.2% |
🇭🇳 Honduras | $1.33 | 8.6% |
🇲🇽 Mexico | $1.17 | 7.8% |
🇬🇹 Guatemala | $1.44 | 7.7% |
🇦🇷 Argentina | $1.06 | 6.7% |
🇨🇱 Chile | $1.37 | 6.6% |
🇨🇷 Costa Rica | $1.42 | 5.9% |
🇨🇴 Colombia | $0.58 | 5.7% |
🇵🇦 Panama | $1.27 | 5.0% |
🇪🇨 Ecuador | $0.67 | 4.1% |
🇧🇴 Bolivia | $0.54 | 3.2% |
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico | $1.35 | 2.2% |
🇻🇪 Venezuela | $0.02 | 1.3% |
This isn’t too surprising, as Venezuela is home to the largest share of proven oil reserves in the world. However, it’s worth noting that international sanctions against Venezuelan oil, largely because of political corruption, have hampered the once prosperous sector in the country.
On the other end of the spectrum, Nicaragua has the least affordable gas on the list, with one liter of gas costing 14% of the average daily income in the country.
Historically, the Nicaraguan government has not regulated gas prices in the country, but in light of the current global energy crisis triggered in large part by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the government has stepped in to help control the situation.
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues with no end in sight, it’ll be interesting to see where prices are at in the next few months.
Energy
Mapped: Which Ports are Receiving the Most Russian Fossil Fuel Shipments?
Russia’s energy exports have become a hot topic. See which ports received fossil shipments during the first 100 days of the Ukraine invasion

As the invasion of Ukraine wears on, European countries are scrambling to find alternatives to Russian fossil fuels.
In fact, an estimated 93% of Russian oil sales to the EU are due to be eliminated by the end of the year, and many countries have seen their imports of Russian gas plummet. Despite this, Russia earned €93 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports in the first 100 days of the invasion.
While the bulk of fossil fuels travel through Europe via pipelines, there are still a number marine shipments moving between ports. The maps below, using data from MarineTraffic.com and Datalastic, compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), are a look at Russia’s fossil fuel shipments during the first 100 days of the invasion.
Russia’s Crude Oil Shipments
Much of Russia’s marine shipments of crude oil went to the Netherlands and Italy, but crude was also shipped as far away as India and South Korea.
India became a significant importer of Russian crude oil, buying 18% of the country’s exports (up from just 1%). From a big picture perspective, India and China now account for about half of Russia’s marine-based oil exports.
It’s important to note that a broad mix of companies were involved in shipping this oil, with some of the companies tapering their trade activity with Russia over time. Even as shipments begin to shift away from Europe though, European tankers are still doing the majority of the shipping.
Russia’s Liquefied Natural Gas Shipments
Unlike the gas that flows along the many pipeline routes traversing Europe, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is cooled down to a liquid form for ease and safety of transport by sea. Below, we can see that shipments went to a variety of destinations in Europe and Asia.
Fluxys terminals in France and Belgium stand out as the main destinations for Russian LNG deliveries.
Russia’s Oil Product Shipments
For crude oil tankers and LNG tankers, the type of cargo is known. For this dataset, CREA assumed that oil products tankers and oil/chemical tankers were carrying oil products.
Huge ports in Rotterdam and Antwerp, which house major refineries, were the destination for many of these oil products. Some shipments also went to destinations around the Mediterranean as well.
All of the top ports in this category were located within the vicinity of Europe.
Russia’s Coal Shipments
Finally, we look at marine-based coal shipments from Russia. For this category, CREA identified 25 “coal export terminals” within Russian ports. These are specific port locations that are associated with loading coal, so when a vessel takes on cargo at one of these locations, it is assumed that the shipment is a coal shipment.
The European Union has proposed a Russian coal ban that is expected to take effect in August. While this may seem like a slow reaction, it’s one example of how the invasion of Ukraine is throwing large-scale, complex supply chains into disarray.
With such a heavy reliance on Russian fossil fuels, the EU will be have a busy year trying to secure substitute fuels – particularly if the conflict in Ukraine continues to drag on.
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