In 2021, China set a new record for offshore wind power installation, with 2,603 offshore wind turbines installed, resulting in an additional installed capacity of 14.482 million kilowatts
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In 2021, China’s installed capacity for offshore wind power reached a record high. In 2021, 2,603 new offshore wind turbines were installed, resulting in an additional installed capacity of 14.482 million kilowatts – a year-on-year increase of 276.7%. These turbines are mainly located in seven provinces and municipalities: Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Liaoning, Shandong, and Shanghai. Among them, Jiangsu added 4.99 million kilowatts of new offshore wind capacity, accounting for 34.4% of the total new offshore wind capacity added across the country ； Secondly, they are 33.7% in Guangdong, 10.2% in Zhejiang, 9.0% in Fujian, 4.3% in Liaoning, 4.2% in Shandong, and 4.1% in Shanghai. By the end of 2021, China had a total of 5,237 wind turbines installed offshore, with a combined capacity of 25.352 million kilowatts. Jiangsu Province has a cumulative installed capacity for offshore wind power of over 10 million kilowatts, reaching 11.805 million kilowatts, accounting for 46.5% of the total cumulative installed capacity for offshore wind power. Followed by Guangdong with 24.6%, Fujian with 9.1%, Zhejiang with 7.4%, Liaoning with 4.2%, and Shanghai with 4.0% ； The combined share of the remaining provinces of Shandong, Hebei, and Tianjin in terms of total installed capacity is approximately 4.1%.
In 2021, a total of 7 turbine manufacturers added new installations in the offshore wind sector. Among them, Goldwind added 876 turbines, with a capacity of 4.204 million kilowatts, accounting for 29% of the total – thus ranking first； Followed by MingYang Smart Energy, Goldwind Science & Technology, China Haiyang Wind Power, Dongfang Electric, Envision Energy, and Harbin Electric Wind Power. By the end of 2021, there were 13 companies engaged in the manufacturing of offshore wind turbines. Among them, the companies with an accumulated installed capacity of over 1 million kilowatts for offshore wind turbines included Goldwind Science & Technology, MingYang Smart Energy, Sinovel Wind Group, Envision Energy, China Haiyang Wind Power, and Dongfang Electric. The combined accumulated installed capacity of turbines produced by these six companies amounted to 24.707 million kilowatts, accounting for 97.5% of the total cumulative installed capacity for offshore wind turbines.
In 2021, a total of 21 development companies added new offshore wind capacity; among them, the top 5 companies accounted for 69.5% of the newly added offshore wind capacity, while the top 10 companies accounted for 88.7% of it. By the end of 2021, there were 31 companies engaged in offshore wind power development. Among them, 6 companies had a cumulative installed capacity of over 1 million kilowatts; these companies are China Three Gorges Corporation, Huaneng Group, State Energy Investment Group, State Power Investment Corporation, China General Nuclear Power Group, and Guangdong Power Investment Group. The cumulative installed capacity of these 6 companies accounts for 73.8% of the total cumulative installed capacity for offshore wind power.
In 2021, a total of 20 different offshore wind turbine models with varying unit capacities were installed, 7 more than in 2020. The new installed capacity of wind turbines with a capacity of 6.0MW to 7.0MW (excluding 7.0MW) accounted for 45.9% of the total new installed capacity in offshore wind projects, representing an increase of about 29.8 percentage points compared to 2020 ； Among them, units with a capacity of 6.45 MW had the highest installed capacity, accounting for 27.2% of the new installed capacity, an increase of 21.3 percentage points compared to 2020. The share of newly added offshore wind turbines with a capacity of 6.0MW or less was about 42%, representing a decrease of nearly 37 percentage points compared to 2020. By the end of 2021, among all offshore wind turbines that were in operation, those with a capacity of 4.0 MW or less accounted for 7.7% of the total installed capacity of offshore wind turbines, a decrease of about 10 percentage points compared to 2020 ； Units with a capacity of 4.0MW to 5.0MW (excluding 5.0MW) accounted for 33.4%, a decrease of about 19 percentage points compared to 2020 ； Units with a capacity of 5.0MW and above accounted for 58.8%, an increase of about 29 percentage points compared to 2020.