With China’s first 8MW offshore wind turbine featuring “black start” technology entered its service recently, Shanghai.

Electric had an opportunity to share its strategy and insights into China’s wind power market, as well as the company’s development in delivering the wind energy systems with higher reliability, robustness and stability for a more secure, sustainable and low-carbon economy in the future.

The market of both offshore and onshore wind energy systems in China is welcoming “large capacity turbine units and digital transformation,” and Shanghai Electric is “building a test and verification platform for 10 megawatt-plus offshore wind turbines and an integrated system for renewable energy,” said Pengju Kang, chief digital officer and engineering general manager at Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group (SEWPG) in an interview.

Speaking of the significance of this landmark project during the interview, Mr. Kang said that Shanghai Electric is riding on the growing momentum of China’s offshore turbine market, which is expected to see the grid-connected wind power surging to 26GW by the end of 2025, to accelerate R&D and deliver the world-leading renewable energy solutions.

“Currently, we are building a test and verification platform for 10 megawatt-plus offshore wind turbines and exploring 5G and industrial internet of things to establish an integrated system for renewable energy combining wind, solar power and energy storage,” said Pengju Kang.

“There will be a strong demand for floating units in the far-reaching and deep-sea market in China, as these areas account for more than 80% of total offshore wind resources. We are exploring how to break through technical challenges such as the lower limit of water depth for the application of floating turbines and the marine environment of far-reaching sea area and strong typhoons,” he added.

SEWPG is also expending global footprints, with customized special units based on 2.5MW and 4MW product platforms for overseas onshore wind energy markets. The company is now developing models suitable for the 60Hz power grid overseas to meet the regional demand in countries such as Japan, the US and Canada.

As the global supply chains have closely integrated into China’s wind power ecosystem, Shanghai Electric, a service provider in the whole lifecycle of wind power systems, has built strategic partnerships with international companies in almost every segment of the value chain including generators, gearboxes, bearings, digital tools and platforms for R&D and design.

Shanghai Electric has recorded the sharpest revenue increase from renewables in recent years, with a 51% year-on-year growth from 2018 to 2019, in contrast to only 8.4% from its thermal power during the same period. In late June, the company announced the plan for an initial public offering (IPO) of its wind power division Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group.