Tanya Weaver Fri 15 Nov 2024
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2024/11/15/worlds-largest-offshore-solar-project-now-operational-coast-china
The first solar units from CHN Energy’s 1GW offshore PV project have connected to China’s energy grid.
Developed by CHN Energy’s Guohua Energy Investment, the offshore PV project is located 8km off the eastern coast of the city of Dongying and spans approximately 1,223 hectares.
CHN Energy claims it is the “first and the largest” offshore PV installation of its kind in the world.
It features 2,934 PV platforms, with each measuring 60m in length and 35m in width. These platforms were installed using large-scale offshore steel truss platform fixed-pile foundations.
In a statement on its website, CHN Energy says that this project “marks the first time in China that a 66-kilovolt offshore cable paired with an onshore cable has been used for high-capacity, long-distance transmission in the PV sector”.
The subsea cables measure 142.5km, while the land cables measure 143km.
The project utilises a modular power generation system with a centralised grid connection, where submarine cables link to a new 220kV onshore substation.
In addition, it utilises an integrated fishing and PV development model that combines fish farming with PV power generation to optimise the use of marine areas.
Upon completion, the project is expected to generate 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually – enough to meet the needs of approximately 2.67 million urban residents in China.
This is equivalent to saving approximately 503,800 tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3447 million tonnes.
CHN Energy says that this project will serve as a model for the development of large-scale offshore PV projects in the industry.
Indeed, China is leading the way in renewables development. In July 2024, new data from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found that China is building almost twice as much wind and solar energy capacity as every other country in the world combined, with 180GW of utility-scale solar and 159GW of wind power already under construction.
Another report in October 2024 found that China’s unprecedented “tsunami” of foreign investment in renewable energy and transport electrification projects since 2023 is turbocharging the global energy transition.
However, while China is leading the decarbonisation race, it is still approving new coal permits. In a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the country undertook construction on over 41GW of coal projects in the first half of this year.
According to GEM’s annual survey of global coal power units, China alone accounted for two-thirds of coal-burning power capacity in 2023.
However, while China is still approving coal permits, this amount has dropped significantly from previous years, which GEM says is “a hopeful sign that China’s massive solar and wind builds are dampening its coal ambitions”.
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