The manufacturer filed the trademarks on 31 May and had them approved on 14 September, according to listings on intellectual property database Trademarkia.
A spokesman said the company did not know when more information was due to be made public, but confirmed the trademark to Windpower Monthly. MHI Vestas did not wish to comment further.
With a rotor diameter of 174 metres and power rating of 9MW, a V174-9.0 model would have a specific power rating of 378.5W/m2 — practically identical to the 378.7W/m2 specific power rating of the V164-8MW model.
A 9MW V174 would have a lower specific power rating than that of the V164-9.5 (449.7W/m2), and a hypothetical V164-9.0 (426.1W/m2).
MHI Vestas has favoured power uprating over rotor enlargement in recent years, increasing output of its V164 platform from 7MW to 8MW, and most recently to 9.5MW.
When the V164-9.5MW was unveiled in June 2017, senior product manager Anders Bach Andersen told Windpower Monthly power uprating would have a more beneficial effect on levelised cost of energy (LCOE) than rotor enlargement.
This is because a bigger rotor would boost annual energy production (AEP), but raise turbines’ loads and would require an increase in hub height to maintain minimum wave clearance, he explained.
Andersen also suggested the V164-9.5MW created ample potential for future blade enlargement, building on the current design, or a new development entirely.
In an interview with Windpower Monthly in London in September 2018, MHI Vestas CEO Philippe Kavafyan said the company did not plan to launch a new platform.
He added: "We have a young platform that has a lot of growth in it.
"We can grow the rotor, reinforce the torque, and upgrade in incremental steps to keep up with the standards we see in the competition.
"Our platform is capable of going to double-digits. I really like the flexibility in our system."
