World First 25MW Wind Turbine Achieves Major Progress

China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Technology and Sunwind Energy have reached a milestone with the successful rollout of the world's first 25MW full-power grid-forming converter in Hefei, Anhui.

This achievement indicates that the development of CSSC's 25MW wind turbine is now in the fast lane, bringing the full-scale prototype's debut significantly closer. It marks a groundbreaking advancement in China's domestically-produced, high-capacity core equipment for offshore wind power, and acts as a strategic solution to the global challenge of stabilizing power grid integration from far-reaching offshore wind farms.

Public information reveals a well-coordinated supply chain advancing for CSSC's 25MW wind turbine. In May 2025, Jinlei Heavy Equipment developed a lightweight main shaft for the turbine, with its key mechanical properties reaching internationally advanced levels. By July 2025, Elade had successfully shipped all massive tower flanges for the model, with a total weight of 219 tons and the largest single piece measuring 12 meters in diameter. The recent successful rollout of the converter, coupled with these component milestones, demonstrates that the 25MW turbine is rapidly transitioning from blueprint to reality.

It is particularly noteworthy that the official news specifically highlights this as the "world's first 25MW grid-forming wind power converter." This signifies that CSSC's 25MW turbine will possess grid-forming capabilities, which are absent in conventional wind turbines.

Traditional wind turbines are like backup dancers on stage. They must constantly follow the "lead melody"—the grid's voltage and frequency—adjusting their movements accordingly. If this "melody" becomes weak or unstable (a weak grid), these dancers are prone to missing their beat, falling out of sync, and even disconnecting from the grid.

In contrast, grid-forming turbines are like lead dancers equipped with their own stable metronomes. They can actively establish and maintain the grid's voltage and frequency, providing solid support for the entire power system. Under extreme conditions, such as a weak grid or even during grid faults, grid-forming turbines can not only remain stable themselves but also provide crucial inertia support and voltage recovery capabilities—much like traditional thermal or hydro power generators.

According to official news releases, the 25MW grid-forming converter launched this time has achieved three breakthroughs in grid-forming performance:

First, it boasts full-condition grid adaptability, enabling seamless online switching between grid-following and grid-forming modes. This covers all scenarios, from extremely weak grids with a short-circuit ratio of 1.2 to strong grids. This fundamentally addresses the grid connection stability challenges faced by deep-sea wind farms due to long transmission lines and weak grids.

Second, it offers millisecond-level active support performance. Its inertia response delay is less than 5 milliseconds, its active power control deviation is kept within ±1%, and its fault current support capability is up to 300% of the rated current, a threefold improvement over traditional devices. This means it can quickly and accurately respond to grid fluctuations, effectively replacing synchronous generators and providing a solid inertia and voltage foundation for the grid.

Finally, it significantly improves system-level reliability. Integrated black start and oscillation suppression prevent cascading grid disconnections of the entire wind farm due to localized faults, significantly reducing the risk of unplanned downtime and improving the economic and safe operation of deep-sea wind farms. These breakthrough indicators together contribute to the 25MW wind turbine's unique ability to cope with the complex environments of deep and deep seas.

According to Wind Power World, four Chinese OEMs have previously announced the development of offshore wind turbines of 25MW or greater. Dongfang Electric's model is 26MW, and the prototype has already been installed. The other three OEMs all offer 25MW wind turbines, with CSIC Technology being the first to announce and publicly announce the rollout of components. It is also understood that the 18MW model being tested by Dongfang Electric Wind Power is currently the world's largest grid-type wind turbine. Once CSIC Technology's 25MW wind turbine rolls off the production line, it will break this record.