On April 25th, the installation of China Three Gorges Renewables (CTGR) “Linghang,” the world’s largest floating offshore wind turbine with a single-unit capacity of 16 MW, officially commenced in the waters of the Qingzhou Offshore Wind Farm in Yangjiang, Guangdong.
This marks the successful completion of a key transport milestone for China’s first large-capacity deep-sea floating wind power scientific research and demonstration project, representing a substantive step toward the large-scale development of deep-sea wind power.
CTGR “Linghang” is China’s self-developed floating offshore wind turbine with the largest single-unit capacity and the highest level of technical integration. Equipped with a semi-submersible floating foundation platform, the unit has a total length of approximately 80.85 meters, a molded width of 91.04 meters, and a total weight of about 7,530 tons. It is planned to be deployed in deep-sea areas approximately 80 kilometers off the coast of Yangjiang with a water depth of about 50 meters.
The towing operation faced multiple challenges, including long distances, the massive scale of the equipment, and complex sea conditions. Since the shipping fleet entered Yangjiang’s jurisdiction, the Yangjiang Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China promptly activated a multidimensional support system integrating “smart supervision, drone patrols, and dynamic point inspection,” providing full escort through remote monitoring, on-site patrols, and traffic diversion. During the towing operation, law enforcement personnel verified the vessel’s track every four hours, timely reminding passing vessels to give way and guiding fishing boats to clear the area, ensuring the safety and stability of the entire transport process.
Once operational, the project is expected to generate enough annual electricity to meet the needs of approximately 24,000 households for a year, providing strong support for China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and its marine power strategy. Yangjiang is one of the primary bases for offshore wind power construction in Guangdong; currently, its grid-connected offshore wind power capacity exceeds 6 million kW, with more than 10 million kW in projects either under construction or planned.
