The jacket foundation, the core structure for Europe's largest single-unit capacity offshore wind turbine, the Inch Cape offshore wind power project, had been delivered in Zhuhai City in south China's Guangdong Province, China National Offshore Oil Corporation said on Tuesday.
It marks a major breakthrough in China's core manufacturing capabilities for offshore wind power products.
The delivered core structure comprises three jackets and 11 monopile transition sections, totaling 13,850 tonnes.
The jackets stand 95.19 meters tall.
As the first steel-pile wind turbine jackets built by China for foreign clients, they present high structural connection and protection challenges with complex construction techniques.
The transition sections feature hefty central cylinders and thick walls, significantly increasing the difficulty of welding process and precision control.
"We have pioneered the world's first 'side V' construction technique for wind turbine jacket foundations, applying 'modular pre-assembly plus real-time monitoring and calibration' technology to achieve sub-millimeter accuracy in the jacket closure. We have independently developed high-strength steel welding technology, successfully passing the minus 50 degree Celsius low-temperature impact welding qualification test. This enables 100-percent domestic construction of the core structure, filling a technical gap in the sector in China. By precisely controlling welding temperatures and structural deformation, we have achieved a first-pass weld acceptance rate exceeding 99 percent," said Luo Jianmin, deputy project manager of the Inch Cap project.
China-built jacket foundation for Europe's largest single-unit capacity offshore wind turbine delivered
China-built jacket foundation for Europe's largest single-unit capacity offshore wind turbine delivered
The African Union (AU) and its partners have warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict poses a "serious risk" to African economies.
In a recent joint policy brief, the AU, the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, and the UN Development Program warned that the longer the conflict lasts and the more severe the disruption of shipping routes, energy, and fertilizer supplies, the greater the risk of a significant growth slowdown across Africa.
With most African countries still growing at rates below pre-COVID levels, the brief projected a 0.2 percentage-point decline in Africa's gross domestic product growth in 2026 if the conflict lasts more than six months.
The organizations stressed that the conflict, which has already triggered a trade shock, could quickly become a "cost-of-living crisis" due to higher fuel and food prices. Rising shipping costs, insurance premiums, exchange rate pressures, and tighter fiscal conditions could further compound the crisis, with vulnerable households bearing the heaviest burden.
The Middle East accounts for 15.8 percent of Africa's imports and 10.9 percent of its exports, underscoring the critical implications of the current situation for African economies, according to the brief.
Highlighting that the fertilizer channel may prove more consequential than oil shocks for some countries, the brief noted that disruptions to Gulf liquid natural gas supply would affect ammonia and urea production, raising fertilizer costs during the crucial March-to-May planting season.
It warned that the phenomenon will put further upward pressure on food prices and hit vulnerable households hardest, with significant negative impacts on food security in Africa.
Expressing concern over potential geopolitical spillover effects that could reshape Africa's security, it also warned that a wider conflict could intensify competition for influence in Africa, with regional conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, and Libya already reflecting external sponsorship.
The brief emphasized the importance of strengthening energy security, safeguarding and restoring fiscal space, accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and establishing financial safety nets across Africa as essential strategies for building resilience.
African leading organizations warn Middle East conflict poses "serious risk" to African economies
