MHI Vestas has officially launched an upgraded version of its V164 offshore wind turbine.

The company says that the new 9.5 MW platform is available now and signals its “relentless drive to lower the cost of energy for offshore wind”.

The V164-9.5 MW unit will be the world’s most powerful serially-produced wind turbine and was launched at Offshore Wind 2017 in London. The upgrade was achieved with “only minimal design changes”, said Torben Hvid Larsen, Chief Technology Officer at MHI Vestas, including a redesigned gearbox and cooling system upgrades.

The V164 platform is already operating off the coast of the UK at the 258 MW Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm, which was fully commissioned earlier this year.

The V164 will also be installed at Dong Energy’s Borkum Riffgrund 2 project in Germany, as well as the Norther project in Belgium and the UK’s Walney Extension West project.