Wind energy in China: 6 MW offshore wind turbines

Guodian United Power, a leading Chinese wind power manufacturer, unveiled a 6-megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine prototype in the city of Lianyungang in east China’s Jiangsu province.

Guodian said it independently developed the wind turbines, the largest in China to date. The company developed the wind turbined by borrowing technology from its existing wind turbines, as well as experience accumulated from operating a total of 3,000 wind turbines in the field.

In addition to offshore wind farm plants, Guodian United Power said the wind turbine is fit for onshore wind power and intertidal wind farms.

In May 2011, Sinovel, China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, unveiled its own 6-MW offshore wind turbine prototype, installing the wind turbine in Jiangsu’s Sheyang wind farm.

China’s offshore wind resources account for only a small portion of the country’s total installed wind power capacity, although China’s offshore wind resources are plentiful.

According to the China Meteorological Administration, China has up to 750 gigawatts of exploitable wind resources in offshore regions, three times that of onshore wind resources.

China is planning a major offshore wind power development push. According to the National Energy Bureau (NEB), China will construct offshore wind projects totaling 5 GW of installed power capacity by 2015, aiming to boost offshore wind power capacity to 30 GW by 2020.

Other leading Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, including Shanghai Electric, Goldwind and Chongqing Haizhuang, are also developing 5-MW or 6-MW offshore wind turbines.

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