This from. T.P. Huang on Twitter (X):
A 1GW Qingzhou project just finished installation of 92 11MW turbines w/ 6 specialized ships
Construction Challenges
6450t booster station for long range power transmission
adverse weather & sea
Firm foundation far offshore
Project experienced 5 typhoons & very high sea states -> required precise weather forecasting to install at more manageable times
Large booster station required specialized ship 振华30 w/ 12kt single-arm lifting capacity & 7kt 360 degrees rotating lift that can operate at level 7-8 @ sea
Firm foundation require 1st installing 4 steel piles on seabed in a square & then hoisting a jacket into those piles -> require high precision process utilizing underwater robot to help align jacket into piles
Then hoisting turbine tower on the jacket & installing blades in there
All must be transported securely and working thru very bad weather & sea conditions
Initial turbine took 3 days to install
Increased experience reduced time to just 16 hrs
Project completed in 6 months
Chinese construction & power companies gaining expertise rapidly & innovating in their processes while going thru these huge offshore projects
Similar to construction expertise it has developed in hydro & nuclear
EU is complaining abt offshore projects being too expensive, because they don't want to use Chinese offshore turbines.
Fine, but ROW will not stop offshore wind farm projects. And only Chinese firms will have the know hows to carry out mega projects and completing them on time.
That's the penalty of being overly concerned about who supplies the turbine or the solar panel rather than the benefit of domestic solar/wind installation industry & carrying out large projects around the world
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Helena Cobban
She/her/they | Honoring the lives & legacies of the Piscataways in whose lands I live