China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) has connected the first batch of turbines at its 2 GW Qingzhou V & VII offshore wind project off Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, to the grid.
The first turbines were connected on 27 September, according to CTG.
The project is located approximately 70 kilometres offshore and comprises 163 wind turbines, with individual turbine capacities of more than 12 MW.
The project’s 2 GW transmission system uses a ±500 kV flexible high-voltage direct current (HVDC) connection, with electricity collected offshore and transmitted to an onshore control centre through two HVDC subsea cables.
CTG says Qingzhou V & VII is the world’s first large-scale offshore wind flexible HVDC transmission project and the first application of ±500 kV DC subsea cables for offshore wind. The system also has the highest voltage level and largest transmission capacity among offshore wind flexible HVDC projects, according to CTG.
The installation of the 25,000-tonne converter platform for the Qingzhou V & VII was completed this summer by COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers.
Known as the “Heart of Offshore Wind”, the converter station receives electricity collected from the wind turbines at 66 kV AC, converts and steps it up to ±500 kV DC, and sends it to shore.
The wind farm uses 30 66 kV inter-array cable circuits, with five or six turbines connected to each circuit. One of the connections is a dynamic 66 kV cable linking the 16 MW floating wind turbine to the network.
The project’s ±500 kV HVDC export system consists of one circuit comprising two subsea cables. Each cable is approximately 91 kilometres long and has a conductor cross-section of 2,500 mm², according to Orient Cable (NBO), which said it delivered the HVDC subsea cable system under an EPCI scope.
The wind turbines at Qingzhou V & VII, supported by four-legged jacket foundations, were installed in 14 months, after the installation started in May 2025. During the peak construction period, up to eleven large vessels were operating simultaneously and 23 turbines of 12 MW or larger were installed in a single month, the developer said.
The 2 GW offshore wind farm is expected to generate approximately 6 TWh of clean electricity annually once fully operational, according to CTG, avoiding around 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.