Haiyou Guanlan, China's first far-reaching floating wind power platform, set sail from Fulu Wharf in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on March 26, heading to the Wenchang waters of Hainan Province.
A bird's-eye view of Haiyou Guanlan, China's first far-reaching floating wind power platform [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Developed by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the platform was a milestone of the country's key and far-reaching floating wind power technology. It was also a crucial step for the country towards the green power era.
With an installed capacity of 7.25 megawatts, Haiyou Guanlan platform, composed of a floating foundation and a wind turbine, has an overall height of over 200 meters and a total draft weight of 11,000 metric tons.
The bottom of the platform is a triangular floating foundation assembled with 30 steel modules, and includes three side columns and one middle column. Above the floating foundation is an 83-meter-high cylindrical column, which equals the height of a 30-story building.
Built over the cylinder column is a 260-ton engine room, in which the rotation and pitch operation of the wind turbine can be directed. The engine room is regarded as the "brain" of the wind turbine.
In front of the engine room is a 158-meter diameter wind impeller, also known as the "big windmill". The blades have a sweeping area of nearly 20,000 square meters, which is about the size of 2.7 standard football pitches.
Haiyou Guanlan platform starts its trip to Wenchang waters in South China's Hainan Province on March 26. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Haiyou Guanlan platform is China's first floating wind power platform to operate in waters more than 100 kilometers from the coastline with a depth of more than 100 meters. Its operation will lay a solid foundation for the country's future wind power development in far-reaching sea areas.
The platform will be installed in the offshore oilfield 136 kilometers from Wenchang, Hainan, and will be fixed with nine anchor chains with a total weight of more than 2,400 tons.
Once operational, the facility is expected to generate 22 million kilowatt-hours of power annually. The power will be sent for oil and gas production through a 5-kilometer dynamic submarine cable, which can reduce consumption of nearly 10 million cubic meters of natural gas and cut down carbon dioxide emissions by 22,000 tons per year.
The semi-submersible deep-sea wind power Haiyou Guanlan platform is currently operating in the world's deepest and most-distant water areas. It is also the world's first of its kind and has outstanding performance in investment and steel consumption per megawatt, as well as the capacity of a single floating wind turbine.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
