Ramboll designed one of the largest wind farms in China with the capacity to supply 350,000 households with green energy.
China is fast ramping up its deployment of renewable energy. According to the International Energy Agency, almost half – 43% – of all new renewable energy globally is expected to be built in China from 2021-2026. Wind and solar power are therefore increasingly becoming part of China’s energy supply, and the Chinese government has set a goal to reach 1,200 GW wind and solar energy by 2030.
The Chinese wind power market is the largest worldwide with an installed capacity of 344 GW corresponding to a global market share of 41%, according to the World Wind Energy Association. With more than half of the world’s installed offshore wind capacity, China is the biggest offshore wind market worldwide.
The SPIC Binhai North Phase 2 Offshore Wind Farm in the Jiangsu province, five hours north of Shanghai, is one of China’s largest, consisting of 100 turbines with a capacity of 400 MW, which amounts to the total energy consumption of 350,000 households.
Ramboll has been a key project partner, designing the 100 steel turbine foundations, the 400 MW substation, and developing concepts for the transformers, breakers and cables. Ramboll also developed the design basis to evaluate the impact of waves, currents and geotechnical conditions on the wind farm. The project was a continuation of phase 1, consisting of 100 MW, which became operational in 2016 when Ramboll was the lead designer of the turbine foundations. This was the first time that a single consultant designed both the substation and the wind turbine foundations on an offshore wind farm in China.
Challenging soil conditions
The wind farm is located 22 km off the coast in an area prone to earthquakes and with very soft soil conditions. The seabed consists of deposits washed out by the large rivers, which poses a high risk of soil liquefaction. This put unique demands on the design and construction of the foundations that are placed 60 metres below the seabed in order to support the turbines at depths of 14-18 m. The challenging site conditions called for innovative solutions in the Chinese market that differ from the standard design that was usually used in the Northern European market.
Compared to similar wind farms in Europe, this project was done in half the time. Ramboll’s ability to deliver cost-efficient results quickly during phase 1 of the project was therefore critical in securing the winning bid for the second phase.
The project was carried out by experts from across Ramboll in close cooperation with our environmental experts in China.
The client was Huadong Engineering Corporation. The developer and owner of the wind farm is State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). SPIC is a large state-owned enterprise committed to developing sustainable energy and in doing so staying globally competitive. SPIC is present in 36 countries, with ambitions to enter the European offshore wind market. The SPIC Binhai North Phase 2 Offshore Wind Farm was completed at the end of 2016.
“Ramboll could supply a solution which was 20% cheaper than what the competitors had to offer and could deliver a more well-thought-out solution owing to their wide palette of competencies.”
Zhang YiProject manager at the State Power Investment Cooperation