What’s new: China state energy giant CNOOC Ltd.’s first offshore wind power stations have come online, as the conglomerate seeks to boost its involvement in renewable energy.
The offshore wind power project, located in the city of Dongtai, East China’s Jiangsu province, has a planned capacity of 300 megawatts per year with investment totaling 5.2 billion yuan ($768.8 million).
With all 67 wind turbines set to kick off operation by year-end, the complex is expected to generate 860 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
What’s the background: The project is part of CNOOC’s commitment to enter the country’s wind power market. CEO Xu Keqiang said in a conference earlier that CNOOC will earmark 5% to 10% of its annual expenditure to explore its wind power business in order to increase the renewable power’s share of its energy mix.
The company is the second biggest shareholder of the wind power project with a 47% stake, after Zhejiang Provincial New Energy Investment Group Co. Ltd.
A looming deadline for applying for state subsidies has given a boost to the construction of renewable energy projects, as all new wind farms registered before 2019 need to be connected to the grid by year-end in order to access the state support.
Contact reporter Lu Yutong (yutonglu@caixin.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)
