China marks key step in offshore wind power

China's first deep-sea floating wind power turbine platform, invested and built by China National Offshore Oil Corporation, marked an important step in the construction of the offshore wind power project with a water depth of over 100 meters and an offshore distance of over 100 kilometers, said the company.

The platform departed from Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong province on Sunday, and will be installed in an offshore oil field 136 kilometers from Wenchang in Hainan province, where strong winds and big ocean waves posed a huge challenge to the design of the wind power platform, it said.

With an installed capacity of 7.25 megawatts, the platform can generate 22 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. Power generated will be transmitted to surrounding gas and oil extraction facilities via cables and will be used for energy production, saving nearly 10 million cubic meters of natural gas consumption and reducing 22,000 tons of CO2 emission per year, it said.

The platform is also the world's first floating wind turbine platform used to supply offshore gas and oil extraction facilities in deep-sea areas. It is world leading in several respects including investment per megawatt, steel usage per megawatt and overall capacity.

Currently, China has more than 20 offshore wind power plants with total capacity surpassing 30 million kilowatts, ranking top worldwide in offshore wind power sector.

Zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn