Construction of Goldwind’s 1600-ton Offshore Wind Installation Vessel Kicked Off – EQ Mag Pro
Goldwind held a ceremony to commence the construction of its 1600-ton wind turbine installation vessel in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Ling Yi, Deputy Mayor of Nantong, Liu Dewei, Deputy Mayor of Yangjiang, XueJiping, Chairman of Zhongtian Technology Group, Li Bai’an, Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Group, Sun Feng, President of China Classification Society, Li Fei, Vice President of Goldwind, and customer representatives from Three Gorges Group, State Power Investment Corporation and CGN New Energy attended the ceremony.
The installation vessel adopts the integrated mode of “transport + storage + lifting,” with industry-leading cranes. The vessel boasts the largest variable load capacity and turbine storage capacity in China and can optimize the construction of offshore wind power projects with different foundation types in the deep sea, significantly improving the lifting efficiency of turbine components while reducing the construction cost. This will accelerate the development of offshore wind power at affordable prices. Under the national guidelines of the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals,” and amidst the trend of applying large-scale units to offshore wind power projects in the deep sea, the project will become the backbone of China’s endeavor in exploring the offshore wind resources in deep seas and strengthening offshore wind power engineering and construction capabilities.
The main hook of the primary crane of the installation vessel bears 165 meters of hoisting height and 1600 tons of hoisting weight at maximum. The auxiliary hook of the primary crane bears 183 meters of hoisting height and 500 tons of hoisting weight at maximum. The crane itself can carry out operations in water up to 70 meters deep. The installation vessel is available to wind turbines of over 20MW with fixed support structures and those with impeller diameters below 320 meters.
Ling Yi, Deputy Mayor of Nantong, pointed out that marine engineering was one of the five key industrial clusters in Nantong and an excellent representation of the city. There are 322 enterprises above the designated size in Nantong who are capable of R&D, design, and manufacturing of various mainstream vessels. They help build an advantageous industrial chain of marine engineering equipment covering offshore oil and gas, and offshore wind power. A large number of “vessels of nationally strategic significance” and “vessels of the first kind” have been delivered internationally from ports in Nantong. The 1600-ton jack-up offshore wind vessel to be built from today on has made breakthroughs in new technology applications and intelligent installation. It takes the leading position in China in terms of energy-saving performance, meets public safety standards, supports the concentrated and contiguous development of offshore wind power projects, and will certainly promote the high-quality development of the marine industry of Nantong.
Xue Jiping, Chairman of Zhongtian Technology Group, said, “Goldwind has contributed to and promoted the localized, modernized, and large-scale development of wind turbines in China. Enjoying reputable product technology and quality, it had long held the leading position in the wind power sector.” China Merchants Heavy Industry is among the top companies manufacturing marine engineering equipment and special engineering vessels. Next August, this new-generation offshore wind installation vessel, with a cost of nearly RMB 1.5 billion, will be put into operation and will create greater value for the offshore wind power development in Yangjiang, Guangdong and the South China Sea.
Li Bai’an, Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Group, said, “the development of offshore wind power is unstoppable given the active demand for green and new energy in China.” According to Clarksons Research, in October 2021, China surpassed the UK to become the world’s largest offshore wind power market. The larger size and aims of deep sea projects featured by wind power equipment necessitates higher standards for construction and equipment performance in offshore wind power installation. Once delivered, it will become the leading offshore wind installation vessel in China and able to meet the aspirations of deep-sea and large-capacity exploration, secure the healthy and orderly development of offshore wind power, and ultimately facilitate “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.”
In a statement, Vice President of Goldwind, Li Fei, said, “the 1600-ton jack-up wind installation vessel emerged under the guidance of China’s ‘carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals’ and amidst enormous development opportunities for offshore wind power. The three new energy and equipment manufacturing companies bond together thanks to cultural genes and complementary capabilities and work closely together to build the offshore wind installation vessel with support and guidance from local governments at all levels. Starting from this project, we will definitely enable more cooperation, make sustained progress in innovation, and will work together towards a more promising future.”
According to estimates, by 2025, the annual installed capacity of China’s offshore wind power will reach 12-17GW, with an average annual compound growth rate of 44%, making wind power the fastest-growing sector in new energy. Great progress will be made in the offshore wind power during the “14th Five-Year Plan”. The project will accelerate the industrialization of ultra-large offshore wind power equipment, facilitate the independent R&D of deep-sea heavy marine equipment, and take China’s market competitiveness and capabilities in designing and manufacturing offshore wind power equipment to a new level.
Source: goldwind
