China Three Gorges Corp (CTG) said its 800 MW Jiangsu Rudong offshore wind project transmitted more than 10 billion kWh of electricity to the grid in August, reaching a new operating milestone for the flexible direct current transmission facility.
The project is located in the Huangshayang sea area off Rudong County in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. It is Asia’s first offshore wind power project to use flexible DC transmission technology.
The facility uses a ±400 kV flexible DC transmission system. According to CTG, the project has the world’s largest capacity and highest voltage among offshore wind flexible DC transmission projects of its kind.
Since reaching full-capacity grid connection in 2021, the project has operated for more than 1,600 days. CTG reported an equipment availability rate of 99.5 percent.
The company said the project has provided practical validation for applying high-capacity, long-distance flexible DC transmission technology on a larger scale in China’s offshore wind sector.
According to CTG, the more than 10 billion kWh transmitted to the grid is sufficient to meet the annual electricity demand of about 4 million households. The company said the same amount is equivalent to saving 3 million metric tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 7.4 million metric tons.
The wind farm operates in a marine environment exposed to high humidity, high salinity and frequent typhoons. Its engineering team has addressed operational challenges involving new equipment, complex system integration and emergency response.
Technical work has focused on maintaining stable operation of the ±400 kV flexible DC system, monitoring and maintaining long-distance submarine cables, and managing high-load operating conditions.
Wang Xuefeng, deputy general manager of the Nantong company under CTG‘s Jiangsu branch, said the project has reduced transmission line losses by about 1.2 percentage points compared with traditional AC transmission.
He said the reduction has generated cumulative transmission cost savings of more than 735 million yuan, equivalent to $102 million.
