The first offshore deep-sea wind energy project in China is called CNOOC Guanlan, which translates to “watching waves” in Chinese.
Industry experts claim that China’s first deep-sea floating wind power platform, which should be operational by the end of May, represents a significant development in the nation’s primary technological area of deep-sea floating wind power.
The operator China National Offshore Oil Corp. announced that the offshore construction of China’s first deep-sea floating wind power platform has been completed and will be operational by the end of this month following the successful installation of the 5-kilometer underwater cable on Saturday.
The first offshore deep-sea wind energy project in China is called CNOOC Guanlan, which translates to “watching waves” in Chinese. It is situated in a Hainan Province offshore oil field, 136 kilometres from Wenchang.
After the project is put into operation, the electricity produced will be connected to the offshore oilfield group’s power grid for the production of oil and gas.
This will result in an annual power generation capacity of 22 million kilowatt-hours, which is roughly 10 million cubic metres of natural gas, and a 22,000 metric tonne reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, according to the company.
According to an analyst, the platform will create a strong base for China’s wind power deployment from shallow to deep waters.
Lin Boqiang, director of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University stated that “the operation of the platform will be a critical step towards a green energy era in offshore oil and gas development.”
Lin claims that recent strong signs of recovery in China’s marine economy, particularly in the offshore oil and gas sectors, are attributable to policy support for economic growth.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, China’s gross marine product, which accounts for 8.2 percent of the nation’s GDP, increased by 5.1 percent year over year to 2.3 trillion yuan ($332.78 billion) in the first quarter.
Offshore production of crude oil and natural gas increased by 3.8% and 6.5% annually, respectively, according to the report.
The traditional marine industry “has seen steady development in the first three months, supporting a rebound of the marine economy,” according to Cui Xiaojian, deputy director of the National Marine Data and Information Service.
The sector’s upward momentum is anticipated to continue in the second quarter as policy effects will be more apparent and industrial transformation and upgrading will accelerate.
Li Mao, the deputy Party secretary of CNOOC‘s Zhanjiang branch in Guangdong province, claims that the project’s operation is a ground-breaking initiative to support the optimisation of clean energy structures in deep-sea exploration. Li claims that this will speed up the transition of energy systems to cleaner and lower-carbon emissions while enabling more efficient use of oil and gas resources.