China Installs World’s Largest Offshore Wind Converter Station

The installation of the world’s largest offshore converter station is being hailed by China Classification Society (CCS) as a milestone in the development of deep-water wind power.

CCS says the facility effectively addresses the challenges of large capacity and long-distance power transmission presented by offshore wind farms. RUDONG is the first offshore ±400 kV wind power flexible DC transmission project in China. The station will be used to collect 1,100 MW of electric energy from three windfarms in the JIANGSU RUDONG project in China’s Yellow Sea.

The station will then convert the electricity into DC power and transmit it onshore, a distance of around 100km, the longest transmission length in China, via a submarine cable. When the project is fully operational it will be able to provide 1.36 million households with their annual electricity consumption, helping China to move closer to its ‘3060’ double carbon reduction target. Compared with coal-fired power plants, the JIANGSU RUDONG windfarms project, can save about 740,000 tons of standard coal and reduce about 1.83 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

“The installation of RUDONG offshore converter station is a significant milestone in the development of deep-water offshore wind power development in China,” said Fan Qiang, Vice President of CCS. “We are proud of our team who used their industry-leading expertise to help support this complex construction project.”

The converter station itself weighs 22,000 tons and is as tall as a 15-story residential building. The impressive structure has an area that is nearly as large as a standard soccer pitch.

CCS has now completed successful classification surveys for more than 60 wind power installation platforms and has carried out authentication surveys for more than 40 offshore substations. Mr. Fan said CCS is working “hand in hand” with the offshore wind power industry to continue its growth.