The first solar units from CHN Energy’s 1GW offshore PV project have connected to China’s energy grid.

Developed by CHN Energy’s Guohua Energy Investment, the offshore PV project is located 8km off the eastern coast of the city of Dongying and spans approximately 1,223 hectares.

CHN Energy claims it is the “first and the largest” offshore PV installation of its kind in the world.

It features 2,934 PV platforms, with each measuring 60m in length and 35m in width. These platforms were installed using large-scale offshore steel truss platform fixed-pile foundations.

In a statement on its website, CHN Energy says that this project “marks the first time in China that a 66-kilovolt offshore cable paired with an onshore cable has been used for high-capacity, long-distance transmission in the PV sector”.

The subsea cables measure 142.5km, while the land cables measure 143km.

The project utilises a modular power generation system with a centralised grid connection, where submarine cables link to...