Rudong county in Nantong plays a leading role in the development of China's wind power industry. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The first set of wind turbine generators of the offshore wind power project invested by China Three Gorges Corporation in Rudong county, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, started transmitting electric power to State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power on Nov 8, marking a successful application of flexible direct current or DC transmission technology in the offshore wind power sector in Asia.

The Rudong offshore wind power project invested by Three Gorges includes two plants and installed 200 4-megawatt wind turbines with a total capacity of 800 MW. The supporting facilities include two offshore booster stations, an offshore converter station, a DC submarine cable, and an onshore booster station.

After the two plants are connected to the grid at full capacity at the end of this year, they are expected to generate 2.4 billion kilowatt-hours a year and be able to satisfy the annual electricity consumption needs of one million households. About 740,000 tons of standard coal will be saved annually and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 1.83 million tons, contributing to the country's target of having carbon emissions peak by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.

As the first flexible DC offshore wind power project in China, the Three Gorges Rudong project has achieved breakthroughs in technology and applying localized facilities, filling a number of technical gaps in the domestic sector.