Dutch utility Eneco has started purchasing energy produced by GE Renewable Energy's 12 MW prototype Haliade-X wind turbine.

The GE prototype was installed in the port of Maasvlakte-Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. The energy produced by Haliade-X is being sold by Future Wind, a joint venture between Pondera Development and SIF Holding Netherlands.

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The scale of the turbine is considerable: it has a capacity of 12 megawatts (MW), a height of 260 meters and a blade length of 107 meters. GE Renewable Energy described it as the "most powerful offshore wind turbine in the world".

In a statement released on Tuesday, GE said the turbine recently produced 262 megawatt-hours of power over a 24-hour period, enough to power 30.000 households in the area. In November, it was announced that the turbine had generated its first kilowatt-hour.

Although designed for the offshore sector, GE Renewable Energy had previously said that the 12 MW Haliade-X prototype would be installed on land to "simplify access for testing". GE intends to commercialize the turbine by 2021, with series production starting in the second half of that year.

To date, the company says the Haliade-X has been chosen as the wind turbine of choice for several offshore projects. This includes Dogger Bank's 3.600 MW scheme in the UK and the 1.100 Ocean Wind project in the US.

As technology develops, the size of wind turbines is increasing. In September 2018, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind launched what it described as “the first commercially available double-digit wind turbine in the wind industry”, the V164-10,0 MW. The turbine has blades 80 meters long, weighing 35 tons each, and a tip height of about 187 meters.

As a region, Europe is a major player in the offshore wind sector. It is home to large-scale projects such as the Walney Extension. Officially opened in September 2018, it is located on the Irish Sea, has a total capacity of 659 MW and generates electricity for almost 600.000 homes, according to Danish energy company Orsted.

The installation uses 87 turbines – 40 MHI-Vestas 8,25 MW and 47 Siemens Gamesa 7 MW – and covers an area equal to approximately 20.000 football fields.

The offshore sector in the US, on the other hand, is still relatively young. Its first offshore facility, the 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm, only started commercial operations in 2016. The project is located off the coast of Rhode Island and is operated by Orsted.