The largest wind turbine in the world 2026: ranking of the biggest wind turbines

Updated on 24 October 2026. The largest wind turbine in the world is Dongfang Electric's 26 MW unit, which began grid-connected operation on 29 October 2025 at a test centre in Dongying, in China's Shandong Province, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China (SASAC). With an average wind speed of 10 metres per second, a single one of these turbines can generate up to 100 million kWh a year, the consumption of about 55,000 Chinese households.

It is four and a half times more powerful than an average turbine at Horizonte, Chile's largest wind farm. And the record may not last long: Mingyang is already promoting a design of up to 33 MW. This is the ranking of the biggest wind turbines, separating those in operation from those still being tested.

The table ranks turbines by rated power, the maximum they deliver in strong winds. Rotor size matters as much as power: it defines how much wind area the turbine captures.

Sources: SASAC (Dongfang 26 MW), Siemens Gamesa and POWER magazine (SG DD-276), China Three Gorges (20 MW), manufacturers (Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, GE Vernova) and the list of most powerful wind turbines for the 16 and 18 MW Chinese models. Data accessed on 24 October 2026. Mingyang's rotor diameter varies depending on the reported configuration.

Seven of the eleven turbines in the table come from Chinese manufacturers. China dominates the race: its manufacturers test prototypes in their own offshore wind market. Europe's Siemens Gamesa and Vestas lead outside China.

The turbine from Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC), a Chinese state-owned company, rolled off the production line in Fujian in November 2024 and was installed at the wind equipment testing and certification centre in Dongying. According to SASAC, it set world records for unit capacity and rotor diameter among grid-connected turbines.

At full load, each rotation of the rotor generates 62 kWh, more than a typical Chilean household uses in a week, at about 180 kWh a month. Each blade is 153 metres long, according to the trade newsletter Windletter, and the hub stands 185 metres high. SASAC estimates that one turbine saves more than 30,000 tonnes of coal a year and avoids more than 80,000 tonnes of CO2.

Sources: SASAC, 6 November 2025 (power, connection, energy and households) and Windletter, September 2025 (blades and hub).

With a rotor of about 310 metres, the circle swept by its blades covers about 75,000 m², more than ten football pitches, according to an Energía Futura calculation. The diameter exceeds the 300-metre height of Gran Torre Santiago, the tallest building in South America.

Prototype or commercial turbine

It is worth distinguishing between a prototype, installed at a test centre to certify the design, and a commercial turbine, sold in series for wind farms. Dongfang's record is an onshore prototype designed for the sea. The largest turbine already operating in a commercial wind farm is the 20 MW unit from Goldwind and China Three Gorges (CTG).

That turbine was connected to the grid on 5 February 2026 at the Zhangpu Liuao Phase 2 offshore wind farm, about 30 km off the coast of Fujian, with a 300-metre rotor. CTG estimates it will generate more than 80 million kWh a year, enough for about 44,000 households, according to Interesting Engineering.

The Western record is Siemens Gamesa's SG DD-276, of 21.5 MW and a 276-metre rotor, with 135-metre blades. Its last blades were mounted on 2 April 2025 at Østerild, and the Danish Energy Agency confirmed the power and rotor in its prototype certificate, according to POWER magazine. The project received 30 million euros from the European Union for its testing.

Among turbines already sold in series in Europe and the United States, the largest are the Vestas V236-15.0 MW, with a 236-metre rotor, being installed at Germany's He Dreiht wind farm, of 960 MW and 64 turbines; the Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD, of 14 MW rated and also 236 metres, and GE Vernova's Haliade-X, which in 2019 was the first to exceed 12 MW and a 200-metre rotor.

Moving these machines is part of the challenge: a blade of more than 100 metres fits on almost no road, which is why giant turbines are offshore and are built next to ports. Wind is not the only technology breaking size records: solar does too, as shown in the ranking of the largest solar plant in the world.

The largest onshore wind turbine in the world

On land, the record belongs to Sany Renewable Energy: its SI-270150 model, of 15 MW, with a 270-metre rotor and 131-metre blades, was erected in October 2024 in Tongyu, in China's Jilin Province, according to POWER. It is a prototype that the company planned to test for more than a year. Outside China, the largest commercial onshore turbines are around 7 MW.

The race goes on. On 21 October 2026, the Danish publication EnergyWatch reported that Mingyang is developing a model of 27 to 33 MW with a 330-metre rotor, according to a document handed out at the China Wind Power fair. There is no public date for its prototype. Mingyang had already installed a 20 MW prototype in Hainan in 2024, according to Windpower Monthly.

Bigger turbines mean fewer machines per wind farm, fewer foundations and less maintenance per MW. The limits lie in blade materials, port logistics and installation vessels, and the reliability of designs that still have few operating hours.

Wind farms are growing too: the world's largest, Hami, in China, already exceeds 11,900 MW, as detailed in the ranking of the largest wind farm in the world.

Chile only has onshore wind, and its turbines are much smaller than the offshore records. Horizonte, owned by Colbún, in Taltal, has 816 MW in 140 turbines, according to El Mostrador, an average of about 5.8 MW per turbine. The expansion Colbún submitted for environmental review includes up to 24 turbines of a maximum of 7.5 MW each, according to Portal Minero.

Energía Futura calculations with the sources cited. Horizonte's average divides the wind farm's total capacity by the number of turbines.

A single 26 MW turbine would replace about four or five Horizonte turbines. But on land, size is limited by the roads, bridges and bends the blades must pass through, and Chile has no offshore wind projects yet.

Wind is one of the fastest-growing sources in Chile's power mix, which is already among the most renewable in the world, as shown in the ranking of countries with the most renewable energy.

Methodology

The ranking orders turbines by the rated power declared by the manufacturer or operator. Only installed turbines are included, whether as prototypes or in commercial operation; announced designs that have not been built, such as Mingyang's 27 to 33 MW model, are mentioned separately. Data for each turbine come from manufacturers, official bodies (SASAC) and the linked trade publications, accessed on 24 October 2026. The swept area and the comparisons with Chile are Energía Futura calculations.

What is the largest wind turbine in the world?

Dongfang Electric's 26 MW turbine, connected to the grid on 29 October 2025 in Dongying (China), according to SASAC.

What is the largest wind turbine outside China?

Siemens Gamesa's SG DD-276, of 21.5 MW and a 276-metre rotor, under testing in Denmark since 2025.

What is the largest onshore wind turbine?

The Sany SI-270150, of 15 MW and a 270-metre rotor, installed in Jilin (China) in 2024.

How big are wind turbines in Chile?

At Horizonte, the country's largest wind farm, the average is about 5.8 MW per turbine; its expansion includes turbines of up to 7.5 MW.

Energía Futura (2026). The largest wind turbine in the world 2026: ranking of the biggest wind turbines. With data from SASAC, Siemens Gamesa, Vestas, GE Vernova, China Three Gorges and Colbún, accessed on 24 October 2026. Available at https://energiafutura.cl/en/news/the-largest-wind-turbine-in-the-world-2026-ranking-of-the-biggest-wind-turbines. The cover chart may be reproduced by crediting Energía Futura and linking to this page.