Image Credits: CTG China has installed the world’s largest single-unit floating offshore wind power platform in deep-sea waters off Guangdong Province. The state-owned Three Gorges Group announced on May 3 that the 16-megawatt floating offshore wind platform, named “Three Gorges Navigator”, was successfully installed in waters off Yangjiang in Guangdong Province on the evening of May 2. The platform is located more than 70 kilometres offshore in waters deeper than 50 metres. It consists of a 16 MW wind turbine, a semi-submersible floating platform and a new mooring system. Chinese officials described the project as a breakthrough in the country’s floating offshore wind power technology. The wind turbine has a rotor diameter of 252 metres and a swept area equal to around seven standard football fields. The maximum blade tip height exceeds 270 metres. According to Chinese officials, the installation site faces difficult sea conditions, with waves exceeding 20 metres and wind speeds reaching 73 metres per second. The system was designed to withstand super typhoons and continue operating safely in rough weather. Pan Hongguan, an offshore wind power engineer at the Guangdong branch of Three Gorges Group, said the project introduced several technologies and materials for the first time in China’s offshore wind sector. These include a new mooring system, an active ballast system, an intelligent monitoring system and a domestically produced 66 kV dynamic submarine cable. The semi-submersible floating platform measures about 80 metres in length and 90 metres in width, with a displacement of around 24,000 tonnes. It is secured to the seabed using nine suction anchors together with domestically produced polyester fibre cables and anchor chains. The polyester fibre cables are being used for the first time in China’s offshore wind industry. The cables were designed with high elasticity and strength to absorb wave energy through elastic deformation, helping reduce the impact of w