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China’s leading wind developer, Longyuan, and turbine-maker Shanghai Electric have launched what they claim is the world’s first integrated floating wind, solar and fish farming system.
The facility is located off Nanri Island in Fujian Province.
In 2021, the parties announced they would build the world’s first aquaculture farm integrated with a floating wind power project in a sign of growing Chinese momentum behind floating energy platforms, which are officially part of the nation’s energy plans.
The floating unit includes a three-column, semi-submersible platform, wind turbines and a hexagonal caged zone within the central area that will be used for aquaculture.
“The pioneering convergence of wind power, solar power system and aquaculture presents a new horizon for the industry,” the project partners stated.
Longyuan is a subsidiary of China Energy Investment Corp (CEIC), the world’s largest power producer and the biggest wind power developer in terms of installed capacity.
CEIC wants to develop a technology solution capable of combining wind generation and fish farming at scale in deep waters.
Key research to be carried out includes choosing the right seafood breeds, the impacts of turbine noise on fish farms, as well as the impact of subsea fish cages on the performance of the turbines themselves, Longyuan said.
The Nanri project was granted approval in 2015.
The importance of aquaculture in Chinese and other Asian coastal economies has made its integration into burgeoning offshore wind developments a key focus for the industry.
Earlier this year, Chinese group Mingyang Smart Energy said it will later this year deploy an “intelligent” fish farming system integrated with an offshore wind foundation.
The company, which has CNY 27.2 billion ($4 billion/€3.6 billion) in annual revenues, described system as “a typhoon-resistant structure [that] includes an intelligent aquaculture system with remote functions, such as automated feeding, monitoring, detection, and collection.”
Mingyang estimates it can raise up to 150,000 fish in 5,000 cubic meters of water, and is due to be installed at an offshore wind farm off Guangdong province.
