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's first gigawatt-level offshore solar project achieves full grid connection
The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.
The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.
Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.
All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.
He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.
The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.
2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results
