Shanghai Plans to Install 29 GW of Offshore Wind Capacity

July 22, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

China’s largest city, Shanghai, plans to have 29.3 GW of offshore wind capacity installed and feeding into its grid. The plan, formulated by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, aims to have offshore wind generating around 100 TWh of green electricity annually.

The news was first reported internationally by Bloomberg, citing a report by Xinmin Evening News, according to which Shanghai’s plan has been approved by China’s central government and the generation capacity of around 29 GW could power half the city.

According to Chinese media, the plan was publicly unveiled at a recent meeting of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held to supervise and promote key proposals on “promoting the transformation of energy structure and Shanghai’s implementation of dual-carbon strategy” which focuses on transforming the city’s energy mix structure to achieve carbon neutrality.

The Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission also emphasised integrating renewable energy sources with existing power systems, with a key project under “the 14th Five-Year Plan” being the transmission of electricity from the Kubuqi Desert in Mongolia to Shanghai, which will deliver over 40 TWh per year, with at least half coming from clean energy sources.

The Commission noted that Shanghai will also focus on an “establish first, then reform” development of coal-fired power plants since they would continue to play an important role in providing a stable energy supply until long-term energy storage technologies become viable, according to China Energy News Agency / Xinmin Evening News.

This meeting was part of a broader series of initiatives by the CPPCC to move Shanghai towards aligning with China’s national climate objectives.

China is already leading in installed offshore wind capacity. At the end of 2022, the country had 31.4 GW installed, according to a report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM), and added a further 6.3 GW last year, for its sixth year in a row in the top position in newly installed capacities, according to Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).