Imagine a sea of solar panels bigger than 1,200 football fields, riding the waves off Shandong's coast. That's the reality now: the Chinese mainland's first gigawatt-level offshore solar PV project has officially gone live! ⚡️☀️
According to the China Energy Investment Corporation on Friday, December 26, this record-breaking farm of 2,934 platforms—each the size of five basketball courts—was fully connected to the grid. Nestled off Kenli District in Dongying City, in Shandong Province on the Chinese mainland's east coast, this massive installation covers over 1,200 hectares in the open sea.
What makes it extra cool? Developers at Guohua Energy Investment introduced a 66-kilovolt offshore cable teamed with an onshore cable for the first time in a PV setup. This smart combo boosts transmission capacity while cutting down costs, making sure all that sun power reaches land efficiently. 🚢➡️🔌
The engineering squad also crafted a "four-pile foundation plus solar platform" design: big steel trusses hold the panels at a precise 15° angle, tough enough to face force-11 gales and freezing winter ice. Bonus: this trick slashes steel usage by over 10%, a win for both the budget and the planet. 💪🌍
Once up and running, the farm will crank out about 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours each year—enough juice to satisfy 60% of Kenli District's electricity demand. That's a huge leap for regional energy security and a big step on the road to a green, low-carbon future. 🎯
Looking ahead, this offshore marvel is set to inspire more large-scale solar farms on the horizon. If you've ever dreamed of big ideas, this one's literally on a grand scale! 🚀
Reference(s):
China's first gigawatt offshore solar project fully grid-connected
cgtn.com
