China has big potential to develop offshore wind energy

China’s offshore wind energy has big potential to be developed, which has provided much room for growth in the domestic helicopter business, a senior executive from Airbus Helicopters said on Monday. 

China has roughly a 20 percent share of global offshore wind power. It is predicted that China’s offshore wind turbines generating capacity in 2030 will reach 100 GW, compared with 250 GW globally, Dennis Bernitz, head of Western Europe sales for Airbus Helicopters, said in a news briefing held in Beijing. 

China has the highest wind power utilization potential if calculated by its number of working wind turbines, and using helicopters can increase the energy revenues of wind farms in China by 2.5 to 10 percent, he said.  The Airbus helicopter has its advantages in efficiency, and it can ensure safe operations and provide medical evacuation 24 hours a day if needed, Bernitz said.

After decades of development, China’s helicopter industry has become the fastest-growing segment of the aviation industry, and it has developed greatly in fields including flight training, air tours, medical rescue and emergency rescue.

At a recently concluded helicopter exhibition held in Tianjin, there were 415 exhibiting companies from 18 countries and regions around the world showcasing 53 types of helicopters.

Tan Ruisong, chairman of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), said the Chinese helicopter industry has achieved a leap forward after years of development, according to a report from www.ce.cn on October 15. 

He said that at present, the industry has built a complete independent producing procedure covering R&D, and delivery and service, and has delivered more than 1,000 helicopters at home and abroad, making China one of the world’s largest helicopter manufacturing bases.

Airbus has become the largest partner in the Chinese helicopter industry after more than 50 years of development, since it entered China in 1967. At present, the market share of Chinese civilian-use helicopters has accounted for 37 percent of the total, with more than 300 Airbus helicopters serving 87 Chinese companies, data from Airbus showed.