‘Typhoon-Resistant’ Offshore PV Project Nears Completion in China

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 15, China Three Gorges Corp. has nearly completed a 180 MW offshore solar plant, designed for typhoon resistance, off the coast of China.

PowerChina said it has completed about 70% of the Dongshan Xingchen Offshore Photovoltaic Power Station near Zhangzhou, China's Fujian province.

The 180 MW project, covering 203 hectares, will be China’s first offshore PV array designed for high wind speeds and the first project on Fujian’s tidal flats.

China Three Gorges Corp., a state-owned entity, will own and operate the facility.

“The annual average wind speed in the area is 5.2 m/s and the maximum wind speed can reach 48 meters per second,” PowerChina said in a statement, noting that a “domestically developed” mounting structure based on typhoon-resistant brackets is being used for the facility. “It can adapt to the needs of project construction under extreme conditions in typhoon areas and promote the development of typhoon-resistant tidal offshore photovoltaics.”

The project required the construction of a 110 kV onshore booster station and an energy-storage system with an unspecified capacity.

PowerChina is building the facility with the support of Shanghai Electric. Project completion is scheduled for the end of this year.

“In the future, the Dongshan offshore PV project will seek to combine power generation and fishery breeding to become a floating power plant and a sea fish farm,” said Liao Jianxin, general manager of the Fujian branch of China Three Gorges Corp.