Wind Turbine of the Month - Vestas V172-7.2 MW™ EnVentus
Technical information, data, and photos of the Vestas V172-7.2 MW™ EnVentus wind turbine
Hello everyone and welcome to a new issue of Windletter. I'm Sergio Fernández Munguía (@Sergio_FerMun) and here we discuss the latest news in the wind power sector from a different perspective. If you're not subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so here.
Windletter is sponsored by:
🔹 Tetrace. Reference provider of O&M services, engineering, supervision, and spare parts in the renewable energy market. More information here.
🔹 RenerCycle. Development and commercialization of specialized circular economy solutions and services for renewable energies. More information here.
🔹 Nabrawind. Design, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of advanced wind technologies. More information here.
🔹 Ingeteam Wind Energy. A global technology and services partner for the wind energy industry, working with OEMs, utilities and asset owners. Find out more here.
Windletter está disponible en español aquí
New edition of the “Wind turbine of the month” section, written in collaboration with with Pablo Carazo, a contributor to Windtechs. For those who may not know it, Windtechs is a consultancy and Market Intelligence firm specialised in wind turbine technology.
Each month, Pablo and I will bring you an analysis of one of the main wind turbines available on the market, both onshore and offshore.
If you do not want to miss any of them, subscribe here.
Windletter is a publication supported by its community of readers. If you enjoy the content, you can subscribe for free or become a paid subscriber to support the publication.
Vestas V172-7.2 MW™ EnVentus
The V172-7.2 MW™ is Vestas’s bet in the large-rotor onshore segment. The wind turbine is part of the EnVentus family, a platform that Vestas has progressively scaled starting from the V150-6.2 MW and V162-6.2 MW models.
With a 172-metre rotor and a power rating of up to 7.2 MW, it is designed specifically for low- and medium-wind sites, where it promises annual energy production increases of up to 12% compared to its predecessor, the V162-6.2 MW.
In addition, the EnVentus platform shares architecture and several components across both onshore and offshore, as part of Vestas’s bet on standardization and modularity.
Interestingly, as a result of this focus on modularity, the EnVentus platform features the first commercially available wind turbines with an asymmetrical design.
Main specifications
Rated power: 7,2 MW (with flexible modes at 6,8 MW and 6,5 MW)
Rotor / Swept area: 172 m / 23,235 m2
Power density: 310 W/m2 (at 7.2 MW)
Hub heights / Towers:
Steel: 114, 150, 166 m
Hybrid (concrete–steel): 164, 175, and 199 metres, the latter in collaboration with Max Bögl.
Drivetrain: Medium Speed PMSG
IEC 61400-1 class: Class S
Cut-in / Cut-out: 3–25 m/s
Noise: 107.8 dB at 7.2 MW
Design lifetime: 25 years
Climatic variants:
Standard: –20 °C to +45 °C (there may be derating)
Low temperature: cold climates from –30 °C to +45 °C (there may be derating)
High Temperature: includes a heat exchanger on the nacelle.
Certification:
Architecture and design
Drivetrain:
Main shaft: supported by two preloaded tapered roller main bearings, with the gearbox and generator in a cantilevered arrangement.
Gearbox: medium-speed ~420 rpm, two planetary stages.
Vestas works with ZF Wind Power and Winergy for the manufacturing of the integrated powertrain (gearbox and generator on the same frame).
Electrical system:
36-pole permanent magnet synchronous generator.
Full converter in the nacelle.
Transformer in the nacelle, immersed in ester.
SF6 medium-voltage switchgear, located at ground level.
Pitch: hydraulic, one cylinder per blade, with individual blade adjustment.
Yaw: up to 14 geared motors depending on the site’s climatic conditions. Preloaded plain bearings with PETP pads and brakes integrated into the drive motors themselves and into the bearings.
Blade:
84.3 m in length.
Manufactured in glass fibre and carbon fibre in the main spar (sparcap).
Triple-row roller bearing.
Tested at: (unknown).
Installed prototypes and first commercial installation
150 m steel tower, first prototype installed in Østerild, Denmark, in July 2024
175 m hybrid tower, first commercial installation in Germany, installed in June 2025
In-house manufacturing
Blades: Daimiel, Goleniow (Poland, former LM plant acquired by Vestas), Nakskov and Lem (both in Denmark)
Nacelles: Ringkøbing and Lindø (both in Denmark)
Track record and commercial pipeline
The first order for the V172-7.2 MW was announced in October 2023 (project in Germany).
As of May 2025, Vestas reported 1 GW of sales for 7+ MW onshore variants (including the V172). Europe and Australia are the main markets for this platform.
Competitors
Siemens Gamesa 7.0-170
Enercon E175 EP5 E2 (7.0 MW)
Goldwind GWH175-7.8 MW / GWH170-7.2 MW
Envision EN-171/8.X
Sources and links
For a full due diligence of this platform, contact Windtechs.
Thank you very much for reading Windletter and many thanks to Tetrace, RenerCycle and Nabrawind our main sponsors, for making it possible. If you liked it:
See you next time!
Disclaimer: The opinions presented in Windletter are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.