An aerial view of the offshore wind plant in Qidong, Nantong, whose main structure is currently under construction [Photo/WeChat account: qdrmt0513]

Construction started on the main structure of an offshore wind plant in Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, on May 28. The plant is the first of its kind in Qidong, and boasts the largest unit capacity and most types of wind turbines in China.

The pile-sinking process was completed that same day. The plant's pile is 75 meters long and weighs 931 metric tons. Before the sinking, several measures were taken and rigorous research was carried out to ensure that everything proceeded smoothly.

The plant, which received a total of 14.7 billion yuan ($2.07 billion) in investment from Jiangsu Huawei Wind Power Co and Qidong Hua Er Rui Wind Power Technology Co, includes three major parts with generation capacities of 250 megawatts, 250 MW, and 300 MW, respectively. Each part will be equipped with one offshore booster station.

The plant is expected to go into full operations in 2021, and is expected to operate for 25 years. It is expected to save around 730,000 tons of coal and 7 million cubic meters of freshwater, as well as reduce carbon emissions by 1.63 million tons.