China's first gigawatt-level offshore solar project achieves full grid connection

China

China's first gigawatt-level offshore solar project achieves full grid connection

2025-12-27 16:34 Last Updated At：18:07

China's first gigawatt-level offshore photovoltaic (PV) project, currently the largest open-sea solar installation in the world, has been fully connected to the grid, marking a major milestone in the nation's renewable energy development, according to China Energy Investment Corporation on Friday.

Located off the coast of Kenli District in Dongying City of east China's Shandong Province, the project covers an area of more than 1,200 hectares. It comprises 2,934 massive offshore PV platforms, each measuring 60 meters long and 35 meters wide, equivalent to five standard basketball courts.

Developed by the Guohua Energy Investment Company, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Energy Investment Corporation, the project pioneers several technological innovations.

It marks the first time in China that a 66-kilovolt offshore cable paired with an onshore cable was used for high-capacity, long-distance transmission in the PV sector, offering greater transmission capacity at lower costs.

The project is expected to serve as a model for the development of large-scale offshore PV projects in the industry.

"The project employs a fixed-pile foundation technique using large-scale steel trusses in an innovative way. The structure features a 'four-pile foundation plus solar platform' design, with panels tilted at a precisely calibrated 15 degrees. This not only withstands a strong gale of force 11 and winter ice conditions, but also reduces steel usage by over 10 percent, providing valuable experience for future offshore solar farm construction," said Zhang Bo, deputy manager of the Kenli project at Guohua Energy Investment.

Once fully operational, the project is expected to generate about 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to meet 60 percent of Kenli District's total electricity demand.

The project is a significant step toward enhancing regional energy security and accelerating China's transition to a green, low-carbon economy.

China PLA, Coast Guard patrol around Huangyan Dao

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command and China Coast Guard said in two separate statements that their forces conducted patrols in the territorial sea and airspace of China's Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas on Saturday.

The PLA Southern Theater Command said in an online statement that its naval and air units on Saturday conducted readiness patrols in the territorial sea and airspace of China's Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas.

It said that since February, its naval and air units have strengthened maritime and air patrols in the territorial waters and airspace of Huangyan Dao. The moves are an effective countermeasure to cope with all sorts of rights-violation and provocative acts and respond to the so-called joint patrols by relevant countries, according to the statement.

They are meant to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and security and uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea, said the statement.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) on Saturday conducted law enforcement patrols in the territorial waters off China's Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas in the South China Sea.

The CCG said in a statement that since February, it has stepped up law enforcement patrols in this area, handling illegal and infringing vessels in accordance with the law and regulations, while intensifying control over relevant maritime areas, thus maintaining China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests.