China's First Sino-Foreign Joint Offshore Wind Power Project Inaugurated

The inaugural ceremony of Guohua Energy Investment’s 500,000 kW offshore wind power project in Dongtai, Jiangsu Province, jointly developed by China Energy and Electricite De France (EDF), was held in Nanjing, Jiangsu. This marked the official launch of China’s first Sino-foreign joint offshore wind power project, a new energy cooperation project under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Wu Zhenglong, governor of Jiangsu Province, Laurent Bili, French ambassador to China, Guo Zhi, chief economist at the National Energy Administration, Liu Guoyue, CEO of China Energy, and Fabrice Fourcade, vice president of EDF, attended the ceremony.

On March 25, 2019, under the witness of Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, China Energy and EDF signed a cooperation agreement on the Dongtai offshore wind power project. The project has a total investment of about 8 billion yuan, of which Guohua Energy Investment Co., Ltd. under China Energy holds 62.5% of stake, and the rest 37.5% are jointly held by EDF Renewables Group and EDF (China) Holding Ltd. With more than US$160 million in direct foreign investment, the project is the most valuable non-nuclear EDF project ever invested in China.

Located in the Tiaozini and Zhugensha sea areas in northern Dongtai, the wind power project includes the 302 MW Dongtai H2 wind power project that went into operation in December 2019 and the 200 MW Zhugensha H1 project which is still under construction and expected to begin service in 2021. Currently, China Energy and EDF are constructing the Zhugensha H1 project in Dongtai, and they will jointly manage the operation and maintenance of the two projects. Once the wind farm is put into operation, it is expected to produce 1.4 billion kWh of power annually, meeting power demands of nearly 2 million residents. The output equals the power produced by burning 441,900 tons of standard coal and can reduce emissions by 937,500 tons of carbon dioxide and 1,704 tons of sulfur dioxide.

The Jiangsu Dongtai Offshore Wind Farm.

The Jiangsu Dongtai wind power project is the most distant of its kind with the most difficult engineering challenges in China. During construction of the H2 project, builders overcame hardships brought by the shoals, rapid flow, frequent typhoons, long distance from the coast and the need for a long submarine cable by innovating technologies. For example, the integral hoisting technology of the No. 16 wind turbine with a single pile foundation used in the construction was applied for the first time in offshore wind power engineering projects around the world. This technology effectively reduces offshore engineering procedures, shortens the offshore installation period and improves safety. It marks an effective exploration in China’s effort to expand its offshore wind power development farther into the sea capacity, and thus has epoch-making significance. Construction of the project has created five “firsts” in China: the first 220 kV triplex submarine cable backspring, the first manufacturing of the imported hard joint of the 220 kV triplex submarine cable backspring, the first construction of the most distant 220 kV triplex submarine cable from the coast with the hardest engineering challenges, the first application of a self-elevating pipe-stabilizing platform, and the first overall submarine cable monitoring technology for 220 kV and 35 kV cables in an entire wind farm.

The world’s first integrally hoisted single-pile foundation wind power unit is installed in the Jiangsu Dongtai Offshore Wind Farm, on August 17, 2019.

The Jiangsu Dongtai offshore wind power project is just the beginning of sound cooperation between China Energy and EDF. Under the strong support of Jiangsu Province, Yancheng City and Dongtai City, Guohua Energy Investment Co., Ltd. under China Energy will join hands with EDF Renewables Group and EDF (China) Holding Ltd. to deepen their collaboration in fields such as wind power, photovoltaic, hydrogen energy, and energy storage, which will contribute to sustainable development of bilateral relations and energy cooperation between China and France.