PEemnegrlgaiin:g Home Port for Wind Energy

By Huang Jiangqin

The world’s longest wind turbine blade,B1260A,successfully passed the static test on the company’s test bench.

At the northernmost tip of the Jiaodong Peninsula adjacent to the Bohai and Yellow seas is Penglai,a district of Yantai City,Shandong Province,known as a “Fairyland on Earth” due to its reputation in ancient Chinese mythology as an abode for immortals.In recent years,the coastal resort area has leveraged its exceptional port advantages and extended an olive branch to offshore wind power enterprises,which stirred a“hurricane” of wind energy.

This October,I toured Penglai’s coastline and reached the northernmost part of Penglai Economic Development Zone,only to find a giant plaque reading“Dajin Heavy Industry” on a towering gantry.Nearby,I found the compound of Dongfang Electric Wind Power (Shandong)Co.,Ltd (Dongfang Shandong Wind Power).

100m Wind Turbine Blade

Near the entrance of Dongfang Shandong Wind Power is an extraordinarily huge blade.According to General Manager Wang Peng,the 53-ton wind turbine blade,independently developed by Dongfang Shandong Wind Power,measures 126 meters in length,making it the longest in the world.Featuring thickness,a blunt trailing edge,and highperformance wings,the type is specifically designed to cater to 16-18 MW offshore wind turbines used in Class I-II wind resource areas.

Offshore wind turbine blades are generally longer and wider than onshore blades.Compared to the largest domestic onshore wind turbine blades,the 126-meter blade is barely 10 meters longer,but requires more advanced technologies capable of resisting typhoons,seawater corrosion,and other offshore challenges.

“Conventional materials for wind turbine blades are fiberglass composites,which don’t meet the needs for large and lightweight blades,” Wang explained.“So we innovatively used carbon fiber instead to make longer but lighter blades.Experimental data showed that the parameters of finished products met expectations,indicating success of our innovation.” Last year,his company even established a wind turbine blade technology research and test platform capable of driving development and testing blades up to 160 meters long for domestic and foreign wind turbine blade manufacturers.

Many technicians tested the performance and life cycle of the 126-meter blade.Upon inspection approval,the model will enter mass production to be supplied to offshore power generation projects near Penglai.

Sea depth,wind speed,and other factors must be considered when using such blades,while possible extreme weather also needs to be assessed in advance.“Super-large blades like this fit 16-18 MW large wind turbines like those often seen in the waters offGuangdong and Fujian provinces(in southern China),” Wang illustrated.

The “Yuanrui 169” vessel loaded with the world’s longest wind turbine blade arrives at the berth of Penglai Port.

The B1260A experimental wind turbine blade is unloaded from a ship and transported to the test bench of Dongfang Electric Wind Power(Shandong) Co.,Ltd.

In front of the array of aweinspiring colossal blades displayed at Dongfang Shandong Wind Power,Wang could not conceal his pride and dubbed their products the “‘BMW’ and‘Mercedes-Benz’ of the offshore wind turbine industry.

Super-large blades inevitably involve transportation challenges.The root diameter of a wind turbine blade measuring 100 meters or so in length may be 4-5 meters,and when loaded on trucks alongside protective devices,the height from the ground surpasses seven meters.Unfortunately,traffic light crossbars average 6.5-7 meters in height,and considering the hanging lights and other infrastructure around roads,transporting large offshore wind power equipment safely and smoothly from the plant to the coast is a daunting task.

In response to this challenge,Penglai flipped 26 traffic light crossbars from horizontal to vertical and widened several intersections.

Why Penglai? “Penglai’s port advantages align with our strategic needs to develop offshore wind power,” revealed Wang.Unique deep water resources make Penglai capable of accommodating two national first-class open ports along its 18-kilometer coastline,which have 33 10,000-ton berths in total,including five 100,000-ton berths.The favorable conditions for the loading and unloading of large vessels were a draw for Dongfang Shandong Wind Power.

“After an inspection tour in 2019,we decided to settle here,” Wang said.Relying on Penglai Port,Dongfang’s blades can be shipped in 24 hours,and convenient offshore transportation from Penglai Port to the coastal Jiangsu,Zhejiang,Guangdong,and Fujian provinces has helped the company foray into other domestic wind power markets beyond the Shandong Peninsula.

Dock Construction

Dajin Heavy Industry Co.,Ltd.neighbors Dongfang Shandong Wind Power.In front of its dock,Dajin workers were using a crane to load huge cylinders onto a cargo ship.

Gao Fei,deputy general manager of the Delivery and Operation Center of Penglai Dajin Offshore Heavy Industry Co.,Ltd.,a subsidiary of Dajin Heavy Industry,explained that the cargo ship was loaded with 42 turbine towers,each with a diameter of eight meters,and 14 hubs.It was scheduled to arrive in New Zealand in a month.

According to Gao,Dajin Heavy Industry built China’s first offshore wind power port combining offshore wind power equipment manufacturing,integrated construction,operation and maintenance of offshore wind power projects,and open docks.It is also the first offshore wind power equipment manufacturer in Asia to export ultra-large wind turbine towers and ultralarge monopile foundations to Europe.Its products cover every component of offshore wind turbines including towers,conversion sections,foundations,and large pipe piles.Some products now in production measure up to 120 meters in length,11.5 meters in diameter,and 2,500 tons in weight.

Dajin’s offshore wind turbine monopiles enjoy a welcoming market in Shandong,Jiangsu,Guangdong,and Shanghai,and they are also exported to more than 30 countries including the UK,France,Germany,and Denmark.Its monopile exports are expected to reach 350 by 2026.

Like Dongfang Shandong Wind Power,Dajin Heavy Industry placed its operations in that location because of the transportation advantages of Penglai Port.“Penglai Port provides convenient access to foreign markets such as Southeast Asia and Europe,”Gao said,pointing to a ship being loaded with wind power equipment.“The 14-meter-deep berths can accommodate vessels of up to 100,000 tons,which is valuable for offshore wind power equipment manufacturers.”

Government support and services are another factor attracting enterprises to Penglai.To ensure that Dajin’s large equipment is shipped out in a convenient and timely manner,Gao said,the government of Penglai District supported the company’s construction of its own dock and granted nearly 70 hectares of land to the factory alongside tax incentives.

Dongfang Electric Wind Power (Shandong) Co.,Ltd.

Engineers at Dongfang Electric Wind Power(Shandong) Co.,Ltd.celebrate a B1030A wind turbine blade rolling off its assembly line.

Aiming High

Together,Dongfang Shandong Wind Power and Dajin Heavy Industry are the largest components of the “east wing” of Penglai’s “one body,two wings”pattern of urban development.Over the past few years,Penglai has led Shandong towards a goal of building an international home port for offshore wind energy.Its prominent advantages of deep-water port resources have attracted an increasing number of offshore wind power projects.

With a planned area of 6.5 square kilometers,the international home port for offshore wind energy is designed to consist of four major sections:a heavy equipment port area,a heavy equipment manufacturing area,an integrated services area,and a supporting industrial park.Over the past three years,several industry giants including Dajin Heavy Industry,Dongfang Shandong Wind Power,Francebased Air Liquide,Shanghai Electric Group,China Huaneng Group,and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group have set up operations there,bringing the total investment to 20 billion yuan (US$2.73 billion).

The arrival of Air Liquide,one of the world’s top three industrial gas makers,marked the first Fortune Global 500 project in Penglai.Also notably,Dongfang Shandong Wind Power is the developer and manufacturer of China’s first 100-meter-long offshore wind turbine blade,and Shanghai Electric Group has led the country in offshore wind power installed capacity for eight consecutive years.

As of last July,the throughput of wind power equipment in Penglai Port had increased by 194.8 percent year on year.According to plans,by the end of 2025,the international home port for offshore wind power will achieve an annual output value of 35 billion yuan (US$4.78 billion) and an annual wind power capacity of 3 GW,reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 7.7 million tons per year.

In its 2022 work report,the provincial government of Shandong clarified its support for Yantai’s construction of an “international home port for offshore wind energy”and establishment of a new economic pattern featuring coordinated development of industries provincewide with the “international home port” in Penglai as the core.In this context,Penglai established a steering group and adopted a “steering group+administrative committee+subdistrict government +platform company” integrated management mechanism,aiming to build an international wind power port based in Shandong and oriented to the world.

A vital factor for economic growth,a good business environment features the necessary conditions for entrepreneurship and innovation and represents the core competitiveness of the development of a region.With Shanghai Electric’s first wind power host rolling off its assembly line late this year,Penglai will become Shandong’s first whole industrial chain park for wind power equipment manufacturing.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025),Shandong plans to invest 100 billion yuan(US$13.67 billion) to launch offshore wind power projects with a total installed capacity of about 10 GW,which is expected to help increase the revenues of wind power equipment and related sectors to over 50 billion yuan (US$6.83 billion).

Penglai's prominent advantages of deep-water port resources have attracted anincreasing number of offshore wind power projects.

Offshore Wind Power Boom

In terms of offshore wind power equipment manufacturing,Wang Peng and Gao Fei agree that China is already among the world leaders in the industry.

“From my perspective as an industry practitioner,China’s offshore wind power manufacturing has reached the top level globally,” Gao Fei said.“We have already achieved mass production of large-scale offshore wind power equipment,which is still impossible in other countries.After nearly 30 years of development,China’s wind power industry has formed a relatively complete industrial chain.”

Wang Peng noted that despite different temperature zones distributed from north to south across China’s vast territory,its homemade wind power equipment is advanced enough to adapt to such a complex and diverse natural environment and domestic market demand.Furthermore,Chinese products are highly competitive in the international market in terms of both level of mass production and application scenarios.

However,neither Dongfang Shandong Wind Power nor Dajin Heavy Industry is resting on their laurels.According to Gao Fei,Dajin will continue to leverage the geographical advantages of Penglai Port and local policy incentives to tap overseas wind power markets even further.Wang Peng highlighted Dongfang’s efforts to continue expanding overseas markets,noting that a wind turbine blade order for Serbia will be delivered around May to September next year.

“Offshore wind power and photovoltaic power enjoy advantages such as a longer industrial chain,closer proximity to the load center,and a higher degree of scientific and technological innovation,which are significant for energy transformation and security,economic structure upgrading,technological innovation,development of the ocean economy,and power consumption,” said Wang Pu,a researcher at the Institutes of Science and Development under the Chinese Academy of Sciences,at the 2023 Green,Low-carbon and High-quality Development Conference held in Yantai in August.Since 2010,China has witnessed rapid development of offshore wind power,leading the world in both annual new installations and cumulative installations,Wang added.

Dongfang Shandong Wind Power also participated in the conference,with hopes to showcase its business capabilities and win over clients.“We look forward to more clients from foreign countries visiting our factories to gain an understanding of our production capacity,” Wang said.