Stories of High-Quality Development | China's wind turbines venture into the deep sea

Narrator: Zhou Mingjun, Deputy Chief Designer, OceanX "Mingyang Tiancheng" Floating Wind Power Platform

In 2025, China accounted for nearly three-quarters of new global wind power capacity, a remarkable achievement. But nearshore wind development is nearing its limits. More than 80 percent of the world's offshore wind resources lie farther out, in deeper waters, where fixed-bottom turbines cannot stay firmly in place. How can we harness wind power in deep and distant waters? This is a question our generation must answer.

If they can't stay in place, make them float. A wind turbine can be as tall as a 60- or 70-story building. How do you make it generate power steadily at sea while withstanding strong winds and waves? We mounted two turbines on a single floating platform, creating OceanX, the world's largest operational floating wind platform by installed capacity.

There were two major challenges. The first was the concrete floater. Steel is too expensive, and ordinary concrete cannot withstand seawater. Our proprietary ultra-high-performance concrete has four times the strength of ordinary concrete and is paired with a single-point mooring system that turns automatically into the wind. The second challenge was keeping the two rotors from working against each other. Because they span 369 meters, the rotors face different wind speeds and operate under different conditions. So we fitted the platform with "three brains" to keep them in sync. After five years of hard work, OceanX finally stood firm at sea.

The platform sits 70 kilometers offshore, which means the electricity must first be stepped up in voltage, then transmitted through submarine cables and stepped up again before reaching shore and connecting to the grid. Every step has to work without a hitch. This is more than just a wind turbine. From the floating platform to the dynamic submarine cables and the remote monitoring systems, every link is crucial.

In September 2024, when OceanX had just completed its mooring installation and commissioning, Super Typhoon Yagi was bearing down on it. The turbines had not yet been powered up, so we could not obtain continuous real-time monitoring data. I stayed in front of the screen, anxious. When we sailed out to inspect it after the typhoon, OceanX was still standing firmly at sea. All components remained intact, meeting our design expectations. After that, OceanX went on to withstand multiple typhoons, including Ragasa and Matmo, proving it could stay afloat, stand firm and hold its position.

Only by mastering core technologies can we go global with confidence. In 2022, Europe was facing an energy crisis, with natural gas prices surging and electricity bills doubling. The Beleolico project, the Mediterranean's first commercial offshore wind farm, was connected to the grid that same year. The project can provide a stable electricity supply for nearly 20,000 households every year. We worked with the Italian owner and European partners throughout the entire process, from localizing and adapting the units to installation and commissioning, and through to long-term operation and maintenance. Chinese technology and experience have taken root in the Mediterranean, turning sea winds into tangible green electricity.

From Yangjiang to the Mediterranean, our generation is determined to drive innovation across the vast blue ocean.