A 1,000-tonne nacelle at 185 metres: the XGC88000 sets the world’s largest offshore wind turbine
XCMG’s XGC88000 crawler crane installed a 26 MW offshore wind turbine in Shandong on 29 August, placing a 1,000-tonne nacelle at a hub height of 185 metres from soft tidal-flat ground.
Bolt alignment at 200 metres
The turbine is currently the largest single-unit offshore machine in the world, with the longest rotor diameter and highest rated capacity of any in service. It is made up of more than 30,000 components, its hub centre sits 185 metres above ground — about the height of a 50-storey building — and the rotor sweeps 77,000 square metres.
Two problems dominated the installation. The first was precision: more than 200 bolts had to be aligned to millimetre tolerance at close to 200 metres, with the nacelle hanging on the hook. The second was the site itself.
Soft ground and no room
The turbine stands on tidal flats, where bearing capacity is poor and the working area is cramped — the two conditions a crawler crane of this size least wants. The project team reinforced the foundation using advanced piling techniques and combined ground pre-levelling with close coordination of the aerial work before the XGC88000 took the load and positioned the nacelle.
Commissioning and grid connection follow. XCMG says a single unit is projected to generate 100 million kilowatt-hours a year, enough to supply 55,000 households.
The scale of the machine puts it beyond conventional onshore wind practice: a nacelle of 1,000 tonnes is heavier than most complete turbines installed a decade ago, and it has to be held steady at height while the bolt pattern is engaged.
The crane behind it
The XGC88000 was the first 4,000-tonne-class crawler crane developed in China, designed and built with independent intellectual property rights. It offers a maximum lifting capacity of 3,600 tonnes, a boom of up to 216 metres and a lifting torque of 88,000 tonne-metres.
Since its debut in 2013 the machine has worked on more than 20 major projects in China and along Belt and Road routes, among them Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia and the Duqm refinery in Oman, with a cumulative 200,000 tonnes lifted. XCMG credits the design with three world-first technologies, six internationally leading innovations and more than 80 national patents; it has also taken second prize in China’s National Science and Technology Progress Award and been dubbed the “National Weight” by state broadcaster CCTV.
Source: XCMG — Photos: XCMG
Crane and turbine
- Crane: XCMG XGC88000 crawler crane
- Maximum capacity: 3,600 tonnes
- Boom length: up to 216 m
- Lifting torque: 88,000 tonne-metres
- Turbine: 26 MW, hub height 185 m
- Rotor sweep: 77,000 m²
- Nacelle weight: 1,000 tonnes
- Date and place: 29 August 2025, Shandong, China