CTG Initiates 25 New Energy Projects Valued at 58 Billion Yuan

China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) started 25 new energy projects with a total investment of 58 billion yuan ($8.27 million) as part of its efforts to step up clean energy and fight against the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia, CTG announced at a conference on Feb 24.

The move is a reflection of the company's determination and confidence in optimizing the new energy business and pushing forward development of large-scale offshore and onshore wind and solar power.

Located in 14 provinces and regions including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Fujian, Hebei and Ningxia Hui autonomous region, the 25 new energy projects with an installation capacity of 3.92 GW will deliver huge social and economic benefits to local people. 

They will not only provide job opportunities to 17,000 people during the construction period, but also help upstream and downstream local suppliers and producers resume operation and construction, advancing upgrading of equipment manufacturing, commercialization of scientific and technological achievements and development of the regional economy.

The 800-megawatt offshore wind farm in Rudong, Jiangsu and the 1.4 GW offshore wind farm in Yangjiang, Guangdong are the two largest projects with a combined investment of 42.4 billion yuan. 

The two wind farms, scheduled to be fully operational by 2021, will house more than 414 domestically manufactured large-capacity wind turbines, provide job opportunities to 4,000 people and produce 7.2 billion kWh of power annually, which will meet the annual electricity demands of about 4.5 million households. 

Compared with coal-fired power plants of the same size, the two projects can replace about 2.44 million tons of standard coal each year, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 5.83 million tons, and cut deforestation by about 2.55 million cubic meters, bringing significant economic, social and ecological benefits.

As the first ±400kV flexible direct current (DC) transmission project in China, the Rudong project has a DC submarine cable with a transmission distance of 100 km, making it the highest voltage and the longest flexible DC transmission line in the country. 

Development and construction of this project will help China breakthrough in offshore wind power flexible DC transmission technology, which will serve as a benchmark for building large-capacity offshore wind farms on the open sea in the future.

CTG is also committed to developing offshore wind power resources in contiguous areas at scale in Guangdong so as to boost clean energy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), in response to the country's strategy of developing the GBA. 

The Yangjiang Project, a key step in promoting clean energy development in the GBA using the offshore wind industry as a starting point, is also CTG's first "Giggawatt" offshore wind farm in Guangdong. 

It will be built in five phases. The first, with a capacity of 300 MW, was connected to the grid for power generation at the end of November 2019. The second to fifth phases, with a combined capacity of 1.4 GW, are now kicking off simultaneously, setting a record in China for offshore wind farms in terms of simultaneous starting of project construction.

The first phase of the Yangjiang wind power project in south China's Guangdong Province [Photo/ China Three Gorges Corporation]

CTG's Fuqing Xinghua Bay offshore wind power project is the first large-capacity offshore wind farm in the world. [Photo/ China Three Gorges Corporation]

CTG's Liaoning Zhuanghe project is the first wind farm in north China. [Photo/ China Three Gorges Corporation]

CTG's Jiangsu Xiangshui project is the largest of its kind in China. [Photo/ China Three Gorges Corporation]

CTG's Dafeng wind power project in east China's Jiangsu Province [Photo/ China Three Gorges Corporation]

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)