China's first 2,000-ton offshore wind power installation platform was delivered for use in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Wednesday, according to China Daily.
It will help make a deeper exploration of offshore wind power potential for the country in the months to come. The platform, named Baihetan, is the first offshore wind power installation platform that meets the functional standards of the fourth generation of offshore wind equipment in China and the requirements of integrated construction operations, including self-lifting and self-navigation in deep waters, according to a statement released by China State Shipbuilding Corp Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding, the company that built it for China Three Gorges Corp.
Baihetan stands on four legs that are up to 120 meters long — equivalent to a 40-story building, the statement said. It can stay on the sea surface while slowly inserting its four legs into the seabed, passing through mud to reach the hard layer. It then lifts the platform above the sea surface to allow the offshore wind power equipment to be assembled on the platform, greatly reducing the difficulty of offshore wind power equipment installation, the statement said.
Baihetan is 126 meters long and 50 meters wide. It is designed to operate in water depths of 70 meters. The lifting capacity of the main crane is 2,000 metric tons, while the auxiliary crane can lift 200 metric tons. The platform, with its 4,200-square-meter deck area, has a maximum load of 6,500 metric tons. It is the flag equipment for the development of wind operations in deep water, the statement said. Baihetan will be used in the waters of Fujian and Guangdong provinces in the coming months, it said.