The hoisting of Rudong H14# offshore wind power plant's last wind turbine marks that the main body of the H14# offshore wind power plant project has been completed and will be connected to the grid in late December. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The last wind turbine of the Rudong H14# offshore wind power plant was hoisted on Nov 30. All of the 50 turbines have now been hoisted and installed, completing the main body of the H14# offshore wind power plant project and enabling its connection to the grid in late December.

"The 6# wind turbine hoisted this time, together with other three turbines, is located in the shallow area where construction is difficult," said Pei Bo, head of the Rudong offshore wind power plant of Jiangsu Guangheng New Energy Co Ltd.

According to Pei, construction in the shallow area is greatly affected by weather and tide factors. Vessels have to enter the construction area by tide, and carry out their work quickly, taking advantage of receding tides.

To improve efficiency, the project department has optimized the hoisting plan and employed professional equipment on the basis of early-stage geological prospecting.

With investment of 3.5 billion yuan ($533 million), the Luneng Rudong H14# offshore wind power plant is designed to deploy 50 4-megawatt wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 200 mW. Supporting facilities include a 220-kilovolt offshore booster station, a 35-kV intra-field electrical circuit, a 220-kV submarine cable and an onshore centralized control center.

"The completion of the main body marks a major milestone before the whole plant is connected to the grid," according to Pei. After fully coming into operation, the H14# project will generate on-grid electricity at an annual rate of 560 million kWh, and achieve annual taxable sales of 200 million yuan.