Orient Cable (NBO) has installed the subsea cable for China Three Gorges (CTG) Corporation’s 16 MW floating wind demonstration platform, said to be the world’s largest single-unit floating wind turbine.
NBO says this is the first 66 kV dynamic cable for floating wind installed in China. The company’s scope encompassed the design, supply and installation of the dynamic cable, which has been engineered to withstand extreme wave heights of over 20 metres and support 25 years of service in severe marine environments, according to NBO.
CTG installed the 16 MW Sanxia Linghang (Three Gorges Pilot) floating wind platform on 2 May at a site located more than 70 kilometres off Yangjiang, Guangdong, where water depths exceed 50 metres.
The platform, which consists of a 16 MW turbine, a semi-submersible floating foundation and a new mooring system, measures approximately 80.8 metres in length and 91 metres in width, with a displacement of 24,100 tonnes. The turbine features a 252-metre rotor diameter, with a swept area equivalent to around seven football fields and a blade tip height of over 270 metres.
CTG says Sanxia Linghang is designed for harsh offshore conditions, built to withstand wave heights above 20 metres and wind speeds of up to 73 m/s.