An energy company has successfully installed the world’s largest single-unit floating offshore wind turbine off the coast of southern China.
The 16-megawatt system, known as Three Gorges Pilot, was completed in waters too deep for a traditional fixed-bottom foundation near Yangjiang in Guangdong province. Company representatives published a statement detailing the installation on May 3.
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A new engineering feat
Built by China Three Gorges (CTG) Corp., Three Gorges Pilot is a 16-megawatt turbine mounted atop a semisubmersible platform. The rotor spans 827 feet (252 meters), with the blade tip rising more than 886 feet (270 m) above the water.
The Three Gorges design follows on the heels of a turbine deployed last year by China Huaneng Group and Dongfang Electric Corp. Its primary improvements are at the structural and system engineering levels.
The new platform is designed to survive inclement conditions in the deep ocean, including waves higher than 66 feet (20 m) and wind speeds up to 164 mph (264 km/h) — the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.
It utilizes a sophisticated mooring system that combines suction anchors, anchor chains and high-strength polyester lines, along with ballast and monitoring systems, to keep the platform stable and prevent undue drift, company representatives said in a statement.
The design also includes several features intended to help absorb and distribute the force of the wind and water, thereby increasing the platform’s durability and extending its operational lifespan.
Generating more energy
Three Gorges engineers incorporated a 66-kilovolt dynamic subsea cable. It’s a specialized underwater power cable designed to carry high-voltage electricity while moving and flexing with the rest of the submersible platform.
Adopting a wave-shaped design, it’s engineered with high-flexibility conductors, reinforced armor layers for tensile strength and fatigue-resistant insulation and sheathing.
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Most of the turbine’s assembly was completed on land, at Tieshan Port in southern China. It was then towed offshore and connected in its final location for testing. At peak operational efficiency, the turbine is expected to generate about 44.65 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
For context, an average U.S. home consumes roughly 10,500 KWh of electricity per year, based on figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration — meaning the turbine could power around 4,200 homes annually.
The installation is notable not just for its scale but for the integration challenges engineers managed to tackle: large rotor loading, platform stability, dynamic mooring and offshore grid connection.
Floating turbines pose massive engineering challenges, as they are forced to endure constant motion from waves and currents without degrading drivetrain performance or blade clearance while also surviving extreme marine weather over long service lives.
For regions with a limited shallow continental shelf, projects like the Three Gorges Pilot could open up commercial-scale floating wind turbines for much deeper waters than fixed-bottom turbines can reach or survive.