China is constructing the world's largest renewable energy project—an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 43.3 Gigawatts. The wind farm will be located approximately 40 miles off the coast of Chaozhou in The Taiwan Strait.
Will Generate 163 Terawatt Hours Of Electricity Annually
The first phase of the project, known as Guandong East Site 6, will begin construction this year and will be followed by the second phase, Guangdong East Site 7. Upon its completion towards the end of this decade, the project will generate an impressive 163 Terawatt Hours of electricity annually.
A Renewable Energy Project That Will Generate More Electricity Annually Than Most Countries & US States Consume
To put the enormity of this project into perspective, the output of this offshore wind farm will surpass the annual electricity consumption of all but 24 countries globally. For reference, Egypt, ranked 24th in electricity consumption, utilized 168 Terawatt Hours in 2021, while Poland, ranked 25th in electricity consumption, utilized 158 Terawatt Hours in 2021, highlighting the substantial scale of the Chinese project.
While in the United States, 163 Terawatt Hours is greater than the electricity consumed in all but three states, Texas (475 TWh), California (251 TWh) and Florida (248 TWh). Focusing on residential usage, it's equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 15.5 million U.S. households.
Despite the higher construction costs associated with building offshore wind farms compared to their onshore counterparts, they offer distinct advantages.
Their strategic placement closer to coastal urban centers, where according to the United Nations, a significant portion (40%) of the global population resides.
With 71% of the Earth's surface covered by ocean waters, situating wind farms at sea offers extensive deployment possibilities.
Ocean-based wind farms exhibit higher capacity factors compared to land-based wind farms, thanks to the powerful winds over the ocean.
Diminishes the need for constructing costly transmission lines from rural, land-abundant areas to densely populated regions.
This project showcases the incredible climate innovations engineers are bringing into the world.
Ranking of Total Energy Consumption By Country:
Source: EIA / Wikipedia