China has begun constructing the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm at a cost of CNY23 billion (USD3.3 billion), Hainan Daily reported.

The local branch of Power Construction Corporation of China, or PowerChina, started work on the 1,000 megawatt project off Wanning in southern Hainan province yesterday, the report said. When completed, it will generate 4.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity for the local area every year.

The project is centered 22 kilometers off the coast at an average depth of 100 meters and covers an area of 160 square kilometers. Its floating platforms make the undertaking more expensive and difficult to build than those with fixed foundations.

The first phase will have a capacity of 200 MW and is scheduled to be ready by 2025. It will include 12 wind turbines, each with a 16 MW to 17 MW capacity. There will also be a 220-kilovolt station onshore, linked to the turbines via submarine cables, transmitting energy to the grid.

The project’s second phase will add about 800 MW and will be finished by 2027.

Source: PowerGen