Currently, the world’s largest capacity wind turbine is the Enercon E-126, which has a rated capacity of 7.58 MW. It has held that honor since its introduction in 2007, but is under threat of losing the title with a number of 10 MW turbines currently in development – including what was destined to be the world’s biggest wind turbine to be built in Norway. Now a Spanish project has upped the ante with its aim of building an offshore wind turbine with a capacity of 15 MW.

The Azimut project will see eleven Spanish companies and no less than 22 research centers joining forces with the aim of generating the know-how required to develop a large-scale marine wind turbine using 100 percent Spanish techno

Offshore wind turbines in the Thames Estuary (Image: phault via Flickr)

If these hurdles can be addressed, the plan is to then construct a large-scale offshore wind turbine with a capacity of 15 MW by 2020. The initial stage of the project, which is set to wind up in 2013, will cost 25 million euro (over US$33 million) over the four years.