China Starts 400 MW Offshore Solar, 133 MW Demonstration Base In Same Week

Pic - An Artisitic rendition of the planned project. Courtesy: CNNC

In a busy week for China’s turbocharged green energy sector, two critical projects have started supplies to the grid, both a clear indicator of China’s lead in the sector.

400 MW Offshore Solar Plant

The first is China’s first pile-mounted offshore photovoltaic power project, developed by China General Nuclear Power Group (CGNN).

The 400-megawatt solar farm, covering an area of 512.7 hectares, is located in Laizhou Bay, near Zhaoyuan in eastern Shandong province. It stretches from between two kilometers and six km from the shore. The electricity generated is sent to land using 16 sets of 36-kilovolt undersea cables which are connected to a 220-kV onshore substation. CGGN is also developing a 2 GW offshore solar plant that it hopes to bring online later this year possibly.

Situated between 2 kilometers and 6.2 kilometers from the coastline, the Shandong solar farm kicked off construction in 2023, in water depths ranging from 8.5 to 11 meters.

Built to survive the ocean environment’s salty air, high humidity, strong winds and powerful currents, the solar farm is a test of the innovation that has been used for all its input materials.

Ocean-ready solar panels using heterojunction N-type monocrystalline silicon with a double-glass design with a PV conversion efficiency of 22.8 percent have been used.

133 MW Demonstration Project in Gobi Desert

China’s first large-scale photovoltaic (PV) technology demonstration and validation base in deserts, including the Gobi and other arid areas, started operations on Friday in Otog Front Banner in the city of Ordos, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the State Power Investment Corporation.

The area boasts abundant solar and wind energy resources. The base was constructed based on the operational three-million-kilowatt Mengxi Blue Ocean PV Power Station – China’s largest single-capacity PV power plant built on a coal mining subsidence area.

The base comprises an advanced technology demonstration zone and a conventional validation testing zone. It integrates 10 mainstream domestic PV mounting structures and 36 types of PV panels in various combinations, creating over 150 experimental schemes to provide data and learnings that will support the development of China’s PV industry.
From systematic full-lifecycle performance validation for core power plant components, including PV panels and mounting structures to the evaluation of metrics such as the levelized cost of electricity and investment risks, the station is expected tp provide valuable data for manufacturers to improve further.

100 MW Onshore Wind Project 

Simultaneously, China Huaneng Group connected a groundbreaking 1-million-kilowatt wind farm in Xinjiang’s Turfan Basin to the grid. Featuring 131 turbines with enhanced wind resistance, the project can withstand 57 m/s gusts – 14% stronger than conventional models.