Zhanjiang's offshore power production transformed by green efforts

Editor's Note: This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and to celebrate, we are publishing a series of stories illustrating how Zhanjiang city in Guangdong province has advanced Chinese modernization. The following is the fifth and last story in the series.

The city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province has been committed to the green energy industry in the past few years, with the aim of supporting the country's energy transition and economic growth.

Featuring rich resources and favorable geographic conditions, Zhanjiang is suited for the green development of offshore oilfields and the large-scale construction of offshore wind farms, said industry experts.

Xuwen county is the center of wind power sector in the city.

In November 2021, the Xuwen offshore wind farm, launched by State Power Investment Corporation, officially started operations.

With an installed capacity of 600,000 kilowatts, it was the

largest operational offshore wind farm in China at that point, taking the city's total offshore wind power capacity to 1,000 megawatts.

In September 2023, the wind farm launched an expansion project to increase its capacity by 300 MW.

With a combined investment of 3 billion yuan ($427.8 million), the project plans to build 25 12-MW wind turbines and a 220-kilovolt booster station.

Zhanjiang has witnessed rapid development in wind farms. [Luo Jinping for chinadaily.com.cn]

Upon completion, it is expected to generate on-grid electricity of 899 megawatt-hours every year, saving 271,900 metric tons of coal equivalent and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 723,300 tons.

So far, the wind farm has produced 4,300 megawatt-hours of electricity.

According to latest data from the Zhanjiang development and reform bureau, the city's operational offshore wind farms have a total capacity of 1.2 million kW. They can cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 2.76 million tons every year.

In the following years, the city will build new wind farms with total capacity of 1.5 million kW, one of which will be jointly constructed by German chemical giant BASF and Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Mingyang Smart Energy Group. It is also the first Sino-German offshore wind power project in China.

Local officials said that they will continue to support the industries related to wind farms, such as component manufacturing, infrastructure construction and maintenance services, and create more job opportunities for residents.

Zhanjiang has also seen remarkable projects in offshore oil and gas development. Of them, Wushi 23-5, China's first comprehensive environmentally friendly oilfield cluster, was put into production on July 1.

Comprising 28 production wells and 15 water injection wells, the project is expected to achieve a peak output of about 18,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, said its operator China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Wushi oil field becomes operational as scheduled on July 1. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Meanwhile, the project can achieve zero discharge and zero pollution during the treatment process of produced water, through an innovative treatment facility.

It is also the first oilfield in the Beibu Gulf to be supplied with electricity from land-based installations, which can reduce the annual offshore gas combustion equivalent to 20,000 tons of standard coal and lower emissions of carbon dioxide by 44,000 tons, CNOOC said.