China tops offshore wind power worldwide

China's cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind power exceeded 30 million kilowatts by the end of 2022, ranking first in the world for two consecutive years, accounting for about half of the world's total, the People's Daily reported on Thursday.

Qin Haiyan, secretary-general of the Chinese Wind Energy Association, said that China has capabilities of independent design, research and development, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, and operation for large-capacity offshore wind turbines.

In terms of manufacturing, key parts of wind power generators made by China accounted for more than 70 percent of the global market, covering generators, wheels, towers, and other castings and forgings, as well as blades, gear boxes and bearings.

For an installation perspective, in September last year, China's self-built 2,000-ton offshore wind power installation platform Baihetan was delivered and put into operation, greatly enhancing the construction and installation capacity of offshore wind turbines.

Relying on large-scale development and technological progress, the economical efficiency of offshore wind power has been greatly improved.

Qin Haiyan introduced that, from 2010 to 2021, the cost of offshore wind power in China has dropped by nearly 56 percent, adding that the average kWh cost of offshore wind power projects has dropped to about 0.33 yuan ($0.05) at present, and it is expected to achieve full parity by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

Offshore wind power has broad prospects. "At present, the cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind turbines is only more than 30 million kilowatts, and the utilization rate is less than 1.1 percent. The future development potential is huge," Qin Haiyan said, adding that, from the consumption perspective, China's power load is concentrated in the eastern coastal areas, but energy resources are mainly concentrated in the western and northern regions.

Developing offshore wind power will facilitate electricity consumption in the coastal areas.