The World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm
The world’s largest floating solar farm is the Anhui Fuyang Nanfang Wind Power Station, a solar-energy storage facility in China with a total installed capacity of 650,000 kilowatts.
The wind farm, located in Fuyang City, covers 867 hectares, an area equivalent to 1,300 football fields. The solar farm, built on flooded land that was once a coal mine, aims to repurpose degraded land for clean electricity production.
The farm consists of 1.2 million photovoltaic panels and is expected to generate 700 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, equivalent to offsetting 220,000 tons of coal and 580,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. The project also includes a 550-megawatt wind power project and a 300-megawatt/600-megawatt-hour energy storage project.
The project is significant in establishing a self-sufficient energy system and gradually transforming the energy infrastructure of the Yangtze River Delta region.
The Fuyang base project is one of the first large-scale projects in Anhui Province and even in the Yangtze River Delta region to integrate wind power, energy storage, and photovoltaic power generation.
Furthermore, the project is cost-effective, not only producing clean energy but also integrating it with aquaculture, enhancing the profitability of the sector.
The solar panels reduce evaporation and inhibit microbial growth, thereby keeping the water clean and maintaining a healthy environment.
The project is considered one of the most efficient in the region, contributing to the conservation of natural resources. Its daily power generation can meet the energy needs of 700,000 people for an entire day.
The State Energy Group’s 1 GW offshore solar power station is another milestone project, expected to become the world’s largest offshore solar power station upon full operationalisation. Although located on an inland lake, the Anhui project stands out as an offshore solar farm.
The offshore solar farm, with a planned installed capacity of 1 GW (1,000 MW), is located 8 kilometers offshore Dongying City, Shandong Province, China.
It is also a world first in many respects, such as its use of a steel lattice platform anchored to a fixed pile foundation on the seabed an innovative approach and engineering feat.
Another achievement is the use of a 66 kV submarine cable paired with an onshore cable to enable long-distance, high-capacity power transmission.
The first photovoltaic modules of this 1 GW power plant have been connected to the grid, and a large portion is already operational, although not yet at full capacity. The project is being developed in phases. Upon completion, the floating solar farm is expected to generate 1.78 billion kWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the electricity needs of 2.67 million urban residents in China.
Similar to the Fuyang wind-solar-storage farm in southern Anhui Province, this farm utilizes a “fish-solar” (PV) hybrid model, combining solar power generation with aquaculture to maximize the use of surface water. It also reduces carbon emissions and creates hundreds of jobs.
These projects, along with others currently under construction, underscore China’s substantial investment in renewable energy. Beijing plans to integrate multiple energy sources to provide a stable and reliable power supply for the future. The use of advanced technology and innovative design has consolidated China’s leading position in floating solar technology.
