Offshore wind development enters third stage

China is asserting itself as a leader in renewable energy through the development of its offshore wind power potential. With approximately 14,000 kilometers of coastline, China's potential ranges up to 750 gigawatts GW, three times the potential of onshore wind power.

By 2020, the Chinese government is hoping to have at least 30 GW of installed offshore wind power capacity.

Free-flowing wind can be found along the entire coastline, but the best winds are along the coasts of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Zhejiang is plagued with typhoon activity, making Jiangsu the best in terms of offshore development. Jiangsu province alone plans on having 7 GW of installed offshore wind power capacity by 2020.

The waters off Jiangsu are the site of the Offshore Three Gorges, a massive offshore wind power project that could have a 1-GW capacity when completed in its entirety. Stage one of the project, a modest, 100-megawatt MW offshore windfarm, was completed recently, and operations are scheduled to commence immediately. The second stage of the project is also under way. Originally, stage two would encompass the same capacity as stage one, but developers are seeking to boost its capacity to 150 GW. Stages one and two are expected to generate a total of 500,000 gigawatt-hours per year.

Guohua Wind Power Company Limited, a subsidiary of Shenhua Guohua Energy Investments Company Limited, along with Jiangsu Electric Power Design Institute, is preparing to begin construction on stage three of the Offshore Three Gorges project.

Construction is expected to begin sometime next year, 70 kilometers from the shoreline of Dongtai City in the Jiangsu province. Guohua Wind Power is investing $1 billion in the development of a 300-MW windfarm that may be expanded up to 800 MW in the future. After completion in 2013, the Offshore Three Gorges project will serve as China's largest offshore wind power base and may be one of the largest in the world.