Blade failure on Mingyang prototype at Lingao test centre

Dec 2024Published 15 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

MinorMechanicalProvisional20 MW

Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?

turbine out of service for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate

From the recordRoot cause Failed part

Where: Lingao test centre, Hainan, China
Operator: Mingyang Smart Energy
What: Blades fractured on wind turbine prototype
Injuries: None reported
Cause: Under investigation

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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Mingyang

What happened

Mingyang Smart Energy said that blades fractured on a newly developed wind turbine prototype being tested at its large wind turbine test centre in Lingao, Hainan, China. The company said the turbine was under extreme-condition testing, that the blades met abnormal conditions beyond their design load limit, and that no one at the test site was harmed. It said the product was still in testing and had not been marketed or mass-produced. Reports in China, cited by Offshore Wind, said two blades failed on 6 December 2024 on a MySE18.X-20MW prototype. Mingyang did not specify which prototype was involved.

Contributing factors

Mingyang's preliminary conclusion was that extreme, abnormal conditions during the test caused the blades to exceed their design load limit. A final cause has not been published.

Lessons learned

Extreme-load testing of prototypes must stop loads before they exceed design limits, as abnormal conditions caused blade fracture.
Operators should analyse fracture data from a test before any model enters commercial production.
Test sites need a defined emergency response plan even when no one is hurt.

More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

Final published cause of the failure
Exact prototype model and age
Cost of the damage and downtime

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Source

offshoreWIND.biz (offshorewind.biz)

Published 2026-09-15. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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The record behind this entry

The record behind EIR-0751 holds the site, the operator, the manufacturer, the capacity, the root cause and what failed as fields you can filter, count and export, with its source and their verification status. Companies are named in the roles the sources give them. Being named is not a finding of fault.

Site: ••••••••••••
Operator: •••••••••
Manufacturer: ••••••••
Capacity: •••••
Root cause: ••••••••••••••••
Failed part: •••••••
Sources: ••••••••

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Wind (onshore) incidents in China: 4 entries, with a free alert for the next one.

Wind turbine fires: the counts, the latest entries and a free alert for the next one. Also: wind turbine blade failures.

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