China's first deep-sea floating wind power turbine platform built by CNOOC. Photo:VCG

China's first deep-sea floating wind power turbine platform on Sunday departed from Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province to an area of sea near Wenchang, South China's Hainan Province, marking a progress in China's offshore wind power technology development. 

The platform's wind turbine  has a capacity of 7.25 megawatts and can generate 22 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, equivalent to the annual power consumption of 30,000 people in China, according to a statement sent from China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the builder of the platform, to the Global Times on Sunday. 

The platform will be installed in the offshore gas & oil field area 136 kilometers away from Wenchang. Generated power will be transmitted to surrounding gas & oil extraction facilities via cables and will be used for energy production, saving nearly 10 million cubic meters of natural gas consumption and reducing 22,000 tons of CO2 emission per year. 

In order to operate in deep-sea areas which experience extreme weather conditions, the platform's physical structure and wind turbine were designed to be capable of withstanding strong wind at a maximum speed of 84 meters per second. 

CNOOC noted that the platform is also the world's first floating wind turbine platform used to supply offshore gas & oil extraction facilities in deep-sea areas, and is world leading in several respects including investment per megawatt, steel usage per megawatt and overall capacity. 

China now has over 20 offshore wind power plants with total capacity surpassing 30 million kilowatts, maintaining its ranking as the world's leader in offshore wind power sector. However, the resource exploration and utility of costal wind power is reaching a saturation point. Accelerating the development of deep-sea wind power will help China realize its carbon emission reduction goals and enhancing its competitiveness in global wind power industry chain. 

Global Times