Offshore Wind Dreams: Challenges and Opportunities

China has a vast sea area, and offshore wind resources are very rich. Only within 20 meters below sea level, the amount of wind power that can be developed reaches about 750 million kilowatts, which is three times that of China's onshore wind power development. However, as of the end of 2012, the cumulative installed capacity of onshore wind power in China was nearly 190 times the cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind power. Compared with onshore wind power, China's offshore wind power is at a critical stage of development from start to scale, and there is ample room for future development.

In order to promote the construction of offshore wind power, on February 16, 2013, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Decision on Revising the "Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2011 Version)>". Among them, "Offshore Wind Turbine Technology Development and Equipment Manufacturing" and "Offshore Wind Farm Construction and Equipment Manufacturing" are added as encouraged items.

The “Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Wind Power Development” also pointed out that the demonstration project construction will promote the development of offshore wind power on the basis of promoting the development of offshore wind power technology and equipment. It will focus on the development and construction of offshore wind power in Hebei, Jiangsu, and Shandong, and will achieve an installed capacity of 5 million kilowatts of offshore wind power by 2015.

The escort of industrial policies is only one of the many favorable factors for the development and construction of offshore wind power. China’s abundant offshore wind power resources, close to eastern power load centers, and strong power absorption capacity, continue to reduce offshore wind power generation costs, etc., are all offshore wind power development. The driving force.

However, it is not an easy task to realize the “China offshore wind power dream” and it is necessary to break through bottlenecks such as technology, power grid support, planning and layout, and pricing policies.

First of all, the basic work of large-scale offshore wind power development in China is not yet fully ready. At present, the assessment of offshore wind energy resources in China has not yet been carried out systematically. Ocean hydrological surveys and submarine geological surveys are also weak. These early basic projects require large investment, difficult conditions, and long periods. The slow progress of basic work will inevitably affect The smooth progress of construction of offshore wind power projects.

Second, offshore wind power development has yet to make breakthroughs in technology. The development, construction, and operation of offshore wind power are more complex than onshore. In the design and manufacture of offshore wind turbines, the combined effects of offshore wind resource characteristics, currents, waves, tides, seabed conditions, and scouring must be taken into consideration. It is the development of offshore wind power that imposes higher requirements on wind power equipment to withstand the operational stability of wind and wind, and the corrosion resistance of equipment. At present, China's offshore wind power technology support is relatively weak, and large-capacity generating units suitable for offshore wind power construction are still in the experimental detection stage. At the same time, offshore wind power in China is still in its infancy and lacks engineering and technical experience. The design and construction of offshore wind turbines and research and trials are insufficient, and the level of power transmission from offshore substations and submarine cables is also low.

In addition to technical issues, the uncertainty of offshore wind power pricing policies has also severely constrained the development of offshore wind power. Most offshore wind farms in China are intertidal projects, which require the laying of submarine cables and the installation of transformers on land. The investment in these power transmission and transformation equipments is much larger than onshore wind farms of the same scale. Because it is far from the coast, the maintenance of offshore wind farms requires special equipment and transportation tools, all require additional investment, and the supporting components are mainly imported. At present, regardless of the construction cost or operating cost, offshore wind farms must be higher than land. Wind farms, so offshore wind projects require higher grid-connected electricity prices. However, at present, China has not yet formed a reasonable offshore wind power tariff policy. In the face of offshore wind projects with poor returns or uncertainties, it is difficult for wind farm operators to carry out continuous large-scale investment, resulting in restrictions on the advancement of offshore wind power projects.

In terms of management mechanism, the unified management and coordination of offshore wind power construction in China needs to be strengthened. China's maritime functional zoning is not very clear. Offshore wind power development involves various fields such as ocean, marine, military, transportation, fishery, and meteorology. China has not established an efficient and coordinated management mechanism, and each department has different understanding of offshore wind power development and management. Different standards, the implementation of non-coordination, the development of offshore wind power has become a constraint.

Although offshore wind power development faces many difficulties, offshore wind power represents the development level of wind power in the international frontier. Whether it can have strong competitiveness in the global wind power industry, the scale and technical level of offshore wind power is a core benchmark.

Judging from the current situation, the domestic wind 1st and 2nd wind areas are basically divided up, only 3 or 4 wind areas have space to dig, and the development of offshore wind power is a new racehorse for wind farm developers. Enclosure opportunities. In the long run, offshore wind projects are even more profitable. As long as technological, electricity tariffs, and management mechanisms are overcome, the offshore wind power market will have a bright future.