The world’s largest single-capacity floating wind platform has two turbines

Mingyang Smart Energy’s huge 16.6 megawatt (MW) OceanX, with its double-turbine, “V”-shaped floating wind platform, has begun operations.

Mingyang announced late last week that it had come online on LinkedIn. The single-capacity floating wind platform was launched from Guangzhou, China, in August and is now installed at Mingyang’s Yangjiang Qingzhou IV offshore wind farm off the southeast China coast.

The OceanX floating wind platform, engineered by MingYang Smart Energy for deepwater deployment (115 feet or 35 meters), was constructed by Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company in collaboration with China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

It features two MySE8.3-180 hybrid drive wind turbines with blade diameters of 597 feet (182 meters) and a capacity of 8.3 MW each. It’s capable of producing 54 million kWh annually, which is enough to power 30,000 Chinese households. It’s also durable enough to withstand winds of up to 161 mph (260 km/h) – and it keeps producing electricity.

OceanX’s 16,500-ton (15,000-tonne) floating platform is built with “ultra-high-performance concrete” and has a cable-stayed system. Its single-point mooring system allows it to ride waves as high as 98 feet (30 meters).

Floating offshore wind allows wind farms to be placed in deeper waters where winds are stronger and steadier. In China, along with Europe and the Americas, floating offshore wind projects are gaining momentum, with several pilot projects and commercial developments already in progress.

Read more: In a first, a German offshore wind farm will use Chinese turbines

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