In recent years, significant achievements have been made in offshore wind power construction. Between January and April of this year, 9.94 billion kWh of offshore wind power was generated. According to statistics, the average utilization hours of offshore wind power in China are about 2500 hours, and 6.85 hours per day, which is lower than Norway and slightly higher than the United States, but about 500 hours higher than the average annual utilization hours of inland wind power. This year, the national wind power, photovoltaic power generation will account for 11% of the proportion of social electricity, will continue to increase year by year.

1. Three large offshore power plants are connected to the grid

China has more than 12,000 kilometers of coastline, two large islands, has been connected to the grid power generation of nearly 30 power stations. In the first half of this year, three offshore wind farms were connected to the power grid one after another: Zhuhai Offshore Wind Farm-delta Island Phase II, Que Son Island, the first offshore wind farm in Shandong Province -- No 4 offshore wind power project at Haiyang south, and Jiangsu Sheyang Longyuan wind farm. Zhuhai offshore wind farm was connected to the grid in August. Vigorously developing offshore wind power is one of the best ways for Guangdong to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality. In 2020, Guangdong Province has a planned installed capacity of 66.85 million kW offshore wind power, which is the largest planned installed capacity of offshore wind power in China. In particular, the 8mw large capacity offshore wind turbine test platform of Que Son Phase II wind farm in the Pearl River Delta has been put into operation, which strongly supports the large-scale development of offshore wind turbine in Guangdong to take the lead in the country. 3 MW small wind turbine blades can generate about 3kWh in one turn, 6 mw large wind turbine blades can generate 7kWh-8kWh in one turn. The Zhuhai Que Son wind farm, the first offshore wind power demonstration project in Guangdong Province, will be completed and put into operation by the end of this year. It will provide 493 million kWh of clean electricity annually, save about 160,200 tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 382,500 tonnes, it is of positive significance to promote energy saving and emission reduction in Guangdong-hong Kong-macao Bay area and optimize the energy structure of power grid.

As of June this year, the total installed capacity of the first offshore wind power project in Guangdong Power Grid has reached 2.6 million kW, and the capacity is expected to exceed 4 million kW by the end of the year, a fourfold increase from the scale of the first offshore wind power project at the end of last year. In addition, in order to better serve the offshore wind power projects, Guangdong power grid to speed up the new energy supporting project construction, to ensure the commissioning of offshore wind power 400kW. Longyuan offshore wind power in Sheyang, Yancheng, Jiangsu has a installed capacity of more than 40,000 kW. New Energy capacity in Yancheng reached 1,004.76 million kW with the H2 offshore wind power project in Longyuan Power, Sheyang, officially connected to the power grid on April 11. Yancheng is blessed with unique wind energy resources, with coastal wind energy development accounting for more than 2/3 of Jiangsu’s total wind energy development. As of last year, offshore wind power in Yancheng was 3.52 million kW. In order to realize the effective connection of offshore wind power, Jiangsu, on the basis of the existing two north-south power transmission channels, is promoting the construction of 500 kv coastal transmission channels in Yancheng, Nantong and other coastal cities, in order to better meet the large-scale connected offshore wind power development and the need to expand to the COSCO sea area. Shandong’s first offshore wind farm connected to grid. On September 12,30 km off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong, the first offshore power plant in Shandong was connected to the grid with the operation of five turbines in the 10th circuit of the Shandong Peninsula South No. 4 Offshore Wind Power Project, a breakthrough in the realization of offshore wind power zero. The Wind Power Project is the first offshore wind power demonstration project in Shandong Province, with a total installed capacity of 301.6 MW. One 220 kv offshore booster station and one onshore centralized control center will be built in the wind farm, and 35 kv submarine cables with a total length of 90 km will be laid between each fan in the wind farm and between the fan and the offshore booster station. According to reports, by the end of the year, 58 turbines of the No. 4 offshore wind power station in south Shandong Peninsula can be connected to the power grid with full capacity, which is of positive significance for promoting the transformation and upgrading of the energy structure of Shandong Province and accelerating the realization of the “Double carbon”target.

2. Aluminum is a great material for offshore wind projects and shore infrastructure

Among the metal materials used in the construction of marine equipment and shore facilities, aluminum alloy is the best, with the best comprehensive performance and the highest cost-effective ratio, no routine maintenance is required during operation, and all aluminum parts and structural components can be completely recovered after 20 or 30 years of service. The total loss after melting is less than 5% , the highest recovery rate of all structural metals, it can form a benign closed circuit. The author has made a rough calculation that more than 75% of the metal materials used in the fan system (blade, connecting seat, column, transmission device, fixed column pile and platform, etc.) and the shore facilities can be made of aluminum, available industrial pure aluminum, 5XXX series alloy, 6XXX series alloy. In order to ensure safe operation, offshore structural components should be made of 5XXX alloy, because it is the most corrosion resistant to seawater.

Fan Structural components such as blade, connection seat, column pipe and so on the best use of 3D printing process. 3d Printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a new process that has only been available in the last 30 years. The advent of 3D printing has taken on an air of invincibility, as a versatile manufacturing process that can produce anything from buildings to human bones and joints. Chinese scientists and technicians have completely mastered this advanced and advanced technology. At present, the connecting ring of a large-scale rocket barrel with a diameter of 10 m has been successfully printed out with 2219 aluminum alloy, with a mass of about 1t, and it was manufactured in only one month, it’s faster than the traditional process, and it uses fewer materials. In order to save material and shorten manufacturing time, improve performance and economic benefit, it is suggested that the 3D printing offshore wind power equipment specialized manufacturing project should be set up in aluminum processing enterprises.

Our country is a global leader in wind power, with more installed capacity this year than Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America combined. There are only two offshore wind projects in the US this year, one off the coast of Rhode Island and one off the coast of Virginia, but fewer than 10 wind turbines are in operation. By contrast, Europe’s offshore wind industry is booming, with Germany, Denmark and Britain deploying 60 to 70 giant wind turbines off the coast, at a time when U.S. President Biden wants to move quickly to zero emission energy, by 2030, the U.S. will have 30 Gigawatts of offshore wind capacity to mitigate climate change and create more jobs. 

Source: Non-ferrous metal