China Makes Major Headway in Offshore Wind Power Equipment

Wang Jin, Kuang Zhanting

Recently, China's first deepsea floating wind power equipment"Fuyao" was successfully installed in the Dourosha sea area, Zhanjiang,Guangdong Province. This is the first floating wind turbine generator (WTG)truly used in deepsea areas led by CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering,filling the gap of China's deepsea floating wind power equipment, and is a "sharp weapon" for China to enter the field of deepsea energy development.

From exploration, installation to operation and maintenance; from the surface, to the undersurface; from known, to little known... CSSC offshore wind power equipment industry is blazing a trail, making independent innovation, and moving towards the deep sea.

New breakthroughs made in "Fuyao"project

The floating platform foundation was built by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong, while the floating platform and mooring system design was completed by CSSC 702 Institute. The floating WTG has large power and large scale, and the highest point of the vane is more than 170 m above the sea surface. The deployed sea flow rate is high. The equipment should meet the design requirements of the overall swing angle of the platform of no more than 10 degrees under high sea conditions.The research and construction units actively carried out scientific and technological innovation, and completed the development task with high quality.

"Fuyao" is the first floating wind power demonstration project directly led by the complete WTG manufacturer in China and even internationally.Its successful development marks that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has the positive design and implementation capability of floating WTG development starting from the meteorological environment and resource data.

At present, the company is still promoting the development of the next generation of offshore WTG, and the first model H256-16MW unit is scheduled for demonstrated application from the end of this year to early next year, which is expected to become the large offshore WTG with the longest vane in the world.

Coordinated development of industrial chain

The offshore wind power equipment industry chain is long, with far more than one wind turbine and one platform. In the fields of exploration and installation, CSSC offshore wind power equipment manufacturers have built many deepsea "green energy"magic weapons.

In terms of exploration, the"China Three Gorges 101" offshore wind power jack-up exploration and test platform built by CSSC Wuhan Marine Macinery Plant is the marine engineering exploration and test platform with the most complete functions, the highest efficiency, the deepest operating water depth and the largest platform area in China. The maximum operating water depth of the platform is 58 m and it has a highprecision power positioning system,which can realize rapid traverse and accurate positioning in the wind farm area. At present, Wuhan Marine Macinery Plant has delivered 5 related platforms in the field of offshore wind power.

In terms of installation, China's first wind power installation platform built by Huangpu Wenchong and meeting the requirements of the future,deepsea, large-capacity and integrated construction operations was launched recently. In addition to the 2,000-ton offshore wind power installation platform "Baihetan", China's first truss gear and rack lifting wind power installation platform, and China's first independently developed bolttype jack-up self-propeled rescue and salvage engineering ship, are all produced by Huangpu Wenchong.

In order to support the installation appliances of the offshore wind power,CSSC South China Marine Machinery has in recent years has obtained more than 40 sets of offshore wind power installation crane orders,among which the maximum lifting capacity has reached 2,600 tons,continuously creating a number of first in China. The company is currently actively developing 5,000t lifting capacity for offshore wind power installation cranes.

The diesel generator set developed by Shaanxi Diesel Heavy Industries provides equipment for 1800 ton and 2500 ton WTG installation platforms of 20 MW offshore WTG installation capacity and 4000 ton full rotary pontoon crane. The precision torque sensor independently developed by CSSC 704 Institute overcomes the bending torque influence of the brake on the sensor with new structure and improves the accuracy and stability of ballast tonnage monitoring for the offshore WTG installation vessel lifting system under diagonal pile condition.

In terms of O&M, CSSC Yuanzhou(Beijing) Science and Technology Co Ltd Afai Southern Shipyard built and delivered China’s first 30m-class professional wind turbine O&M ship"China Haizhuang 001", 35m hybrid wind turbine O&M ship selected into the 2021 outstanding small ship world famous ship list and other kinds of high-end aluminum alloy professional wind turbine O&M ships, created China's multiple "first" for wind turbine O&M ship industry.

By the end of June 2022, Afai Southern Shipyard has undertaken orders for 9 high-performance professional aluminum alloy wind turbine O&M ships. Those under construction include China’s first wind turbine O&M ship "ASA 121" designed and built with international advanced ships.

The 704 Institute successfully undertook the power system integration project of two wind power operation and maintenance mother ships (SOV). The two ships are the first dedicated SOV built in the field of offshore wind power operation and maintenance in China.They adopt the current international advanced "synchronous generator +uncontrollable rectification" scheme,which breaks through the monopoly of foreign integrators on the technology,and is of a milestone significance for the integrated design of ship power system in China.

Core technologies run through the whole industrial chain

The pioneer of China's new generation of offshore wind power construction equipment, the 2000-ton wind power installation platform"Baihetan" and the 3000-ton pontoon crane "Wudongde" are the new generation of offshore wind power construction marine machinery flagship that embodies the painstaking efforts of CSSC MARIC and has fully independent intellectual property rights.

According to the characteristics of China's offshore wind power construction, the two types of offshore wind power construction marine machinery have creatively applied the integrated ship type concept of "transportation + installation",which are the most advanced wind power construction equipment with the most advanced design concept,the highest degree of automation and the strongest construction efficiency in China. Its construction enables the domestic offshore wind power construction equipment to catch up with the international advanced level for the first time, and realizes the curve overtaking, predeploying the delivery and large-scale application of offshore WTG prototype of more than 10 MW single unit in China.

In addition, the core operating system of the two-type equipment has been fully localized, which drives the investment and construction of a number of similar type of construction equipment in China, and provides a solid equipment guarantee for the further development of China's offshore wind powe. MARIC is currently holding more than 20-ship design task of a new generation of offshore wind power construction marine machinery.

Under the water surface, CSSC GSI accounts for75% of the market share of the offshore wind power suction tube jacket in Guangdong province.The company has successfully built and delivered more than 100 sets of offshore wind power products, such as the first suction cylinder jacket WTG foundation in China, the heaviest and largest diameter single offshore wind power pile foundation in eastern Guangdong, and the first deep-sea offshore wind farm jacket / steel pipe pile project in Guangdong Province.

Inside WTG, there is the supporting equipment of many units of CSSC. The 10MW 100-m vane independently developed by Shuangrui Wind Power under the CSSC 725 Institute, 102 m long. It is the first vane with a length of more than 100 m in China and the longest 10MW offshore wind power vane in the world, refreshing the record of China's offshore wind power single capacity and once again realizing the technical guidance on the international scope.

The 8MW high-speed permanent magnet synchronous wind generator of CSSC Fenxi Heavy Industry is the largest high-speed permanent magnet synchronous wind generator in the industry, and its performance has reached the leading level in the industry. The company is now moving towards its target of 10MW offshore wind turbines.

The performance and protection level of the energy storage backup power supply of WTG independently developed by the CSSC 709 Institute are suitable for the environment of deepsea wind power equipment(complex and harsh conditions such as salt mist and vibration).

The 10MW offshore wind power cooling system and 11MW wind turbine slip ring products developed by the CSSC No.8 Institute Haibowei Group Haitong Company, helps the offshore wind power equipment enter the deep sea.

In the field of wind field management, there is the fourth generation SCADA system developed by the CSSC 709 Institute, which is used for wind power plant monitoring,dispatching and energy management,meeting the network environment requirements of deepsea wind power equipment, and can effectively improve the energy supply safety factor, and the function and performance can reach the advanced level of wind power SCADA system industry. The offshore WTG vane load monitoring equipment based on FBG developed by the CSSC 722 Institute is applicable for offshore wind power vane load monitoring, which can effectively reduce the risk of vane damage together with the WTG main control system, and provide accurate data support for the realization of an intelligent wind farm.