Chinese company Mingyang Smart Energy has started construction of a unique floating wind turbine structure. The company describes the OceanX platform as the world’s largest floating wind power platform and the largest single-capacity floating wind power platform.
Positioning of the platform began on Sunday, August 11, and the 191 nautical mile journey to its offshore location at the Qinghou IV offshore wind farm in Yangjiang, a city in southern China southwest of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, is expected to take 72 hours. Officials stress that navigation will be challenging, as the platform will have to maneuver under large bridges and past busy ports as it traverses the waterways of the Pearl River Delta.
The platform is maneuvering along the Pearl River Delta toward its position in the sea off Yangjian in southwest China (Mingyang).
The platform was built at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard and launched in mid-July. The unique arrangement includes two V-shaped towers, each supporting an 8.3 MW MySE hybrid offshore wind turbine. The total output of the structure is expected to reach 16.6 MW.
Mingyang stresses that it is also the first use of ultra-high-strength concrete, which gives the structure greater compressive strength. The company, which describes itself as the company with the largest market share in the offshore wind power field, highlights the uniqueness of the structure with the hydrofoil twin tower, double main engine, double rotors and the application of the cable tensioning system, all of which are unique in the world.
It is designed to operate in waters 35 meters (115 feet) deep or more and with a draft of 5.5 meters (18 feet). It uses a single-point mooring system that can withstand extreme typhoons. At its highest point, OceanX is 219 meters (718 feet) long and has a maximum beam in the air of about 369 meters (1,200 feet). Total displacement is about 15,000 tons.
The 191 nautical mile journey is expected to take 72 hours (Mingyang)
Mingyang reports that it has developed three unique floating offshore wind turbine designs. It is working with China Three Gorges and China National Offshore Oil Company to develop and deploy its offshore wind technologies.
As an example of advances in offshore wind turbines, the company highlights that OceanX uses a downwind design, which reduces the load on the support structure by about 40 percent. The design also includes more than 3,000 sensors to monitor all aspects of the platform’s operating status. It can provide operators with video, audio and image data, as well as data on displacement, temperature, vibration, load, voltage, current, wind speed and wind direction.
OceanX is scheduled to reach its operational position on Wednesday, August 14. Once commissioning is complete, the structure is expected to generate 54 million kilowatt hours annually.
