MILAN, Jan. 9 (Class Editori) - The cables for the new offshore wind turbine prototype of the Dongfang Electric Corporation will be labeled Prysmian. The 10 MW power infrastructure will be installed in the China Three Gorges Corporation wind farm in Xinghuawan, Fujan province. The cables will be produced in the group's factory located in Tianjin, China.
"The development of this turbine not only represents an important step forward for China's technological independence in the mega wind turbine sector, but it is also a milestone for Dongfang Electric in the transition of its market strategies to offshore", explained Francesco Fanciulli, Prysmian Group's SVP Business Energy, "we are very proud to participate in the increasingly strategic transformation of the wind energy industry".
After a development period of over 10 years, the wind energy market in China is now going through a phase of strategic transformation. The offshore sector can count on increasing support from the Chinese government and mega-turbines are the preferred and most appropriate choice for the southern and eastern coastal areas of China, given the greater performance efficiency and lower integrated costs.
The Beijing government would, however, be studying a cut if not the total abolition of offshore wind subsidies from 2022. The measure should apply to national subsidies for new wind farms. But at regional level, support policies should continue, indeed Beijing will continue to encourage them.
Government support had served to facilitate the transition by covering costs still too high compared to traditional forms of energy. But technology seems to have reached competitive levels and costs are decreasing. Moreover, last year Beijing had already decided to cut subsidies to the solar industry.
The new mega-turbine is the first of its kind in Asia and was developed for offshore areas along the southeast coast of China. It is a direct drive offshore turbine with a permanent magnet generator, capable of withstanding typhoon winds of up to 77 m/s and a blade diameter of 185 m. It can generate up to 4 GWh of power every year (with a wind speed of 10 m/s), reducing coal consumption by 13 thousand tons and carbon emissions by 3,500 tons.
Prysmian operates in China in both the production and distribution of energy and telecommunications systems, with 1,500 employees employed in 7 production plants, the most important of which is located in Suzhou, near Shanghai, where a cutting-edge research and development centre for testing materials is located.
Its customer portfolio includes the largest companies in the country, from China State Grid and China South Grid for high and very-high voltage systems, to Guodian, Envision and Dec for renewable energy solutions, to China Railways Corp., China Shipbuilding Corp., China Communications Construction Comp. for industrial railway, mining, port and naval applications.
The Suzhou plant is perhaps the most technological of the multinational cable's 112 plants spread over 5 continents. But it's not just a matter of innovation, as Prysmian Technology Jiangsu in Yixing (Wuxi), a two-hour drive from Shanghai and operational since October, is Prysmian's strategic map of major infrastructure projects along the new Silk Roads.
"Thanks also to Prysmian Technology Jiangsu, the group aims to become an important player in the context of the 21st century Silk Road, offering innovative systems for energy and telecommunications projects", the company's headquarters confirmed. The plant, in which the group based in Milan has invested 50 million euros, and is preparing to spend as many in the coming years, is expanding over an area of 200 thousand square meters with a tower of 138 meters for the production of very high cables, high and medium voltage, and various specialist lines.
There they produce the cables destined to be installed not only in the China State Grid, the largest electricity grid in the world, but also in the networks of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam. "Jiangsu is a bridge offered to our partners in the world of electricity grids, to bring the level of service and technology to the highest possible level today" they explained at Prysmian.
A further acceleration of the company's growth both in China and globally happend with the merger agreement reached with General Cable, which brought the Shen Huan Cable factory of high-voltage cables into the Chinese assets of the group.
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