China is installing offshore wind turbines as tall as 30 Rock in the Taiwan Strait

A boat sails past wind turbines north of Pingtan Island, opposite Taiwan, in China's southeast Fujian province on April 10, 2023.

GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

• China recently switched on a 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine in the Taiwan Strait.
• It's the largest, most powerful turbine in the world, at 499 feet tall with 404-foot blades.
• That dwarfs the size and capacity of American and European wind turbines currently in use.

China now has the most powerful wind turbine in the world.

The MySE-16-260 was connected to the grid on July 19, IFLScience reported. The China Three Gorges Corporation behind the monstrosity says the 16-megawatt turbine should generate enough electricity to power 36,000 households a year.

For comparison, the Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island has five wind turbines capable of generating 30 megawatts of electricity combined, which the company behind it says can power 17,000 homes.

Workers install the world's first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine at an offshore wind farm operated by China Three Gorges Corporation on June 28, 2023 in Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, Fujian Province of China.

Lyu Ming/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

Standing at 499 feet tall with three 404-foot blades, the turbine in China reaches about 900 feet at its apex.

That's taller than the 67-story 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, which is 850 feet.

And it's not the only massive wind turbine in the area. Look how many stretch across the shore of Pingtan Island, located about 80 miles from Taiwan:

The sun sets over wind turbines at the north end of Pingtan Island, in China's southeast Fujian province on April 10, 2023.

GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

While China may be building so many turbines in the Taiwan Strait to shore up its territorial claims, the area does boast strong winds ideal for generating wind power.

But the 16-megawatt turbine won't be the biggest for long. GE is developing an 18-megawatt turbine, Electrek reported in March, though it's not clear when it could debut.

GE could retake the top spot — if China doesn't unveil an even bigger one before then.

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