The world's largest single-capacity floating wind power platform set sail from the southern Chinese megalopolis of Guangzhou Sunday to an offshore wind farm in Yangjiang City, also in Guangdong Province.
The "Mingyang Tiancheng" features a Y-shaped floating foundation. The upper part, the V-shaped structure, is installed with two wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 16.6 MW, and an impeller of 219 meters at its highest point.
It will arrive at the Mingyang Qingzhou Sihai Offshore Wind Farm on Wednesday after a 72-hour voyage of 191 nautical miles.
This monolithic platform, developed independently by the Mingyang Smart Energy Group, is projected to generate approximately 54 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
It is designed for a wide range of waters over 35 meters deep and can serve for about 25 years under severe sea conditions such as typhoons and high waves.
"It is expected to generate 54 million kWh annually, which will be enough to power 30,000 three-member families for a year," said Wang Chao, chief engineer of the platform with the Mingyang Smart Energy Group.
World's largest monolithic floating wind power platform sets sail for offshore farm
President of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan commended Chinese support for the development of African nations while expressing optimism about the future of trade and tourism between China and the island country.
Ramkalawan made the comments during his visit to southwest China's Sichuan Province from September 5-7, following his participation in the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Beijing.
In Sichuan, Ramkalawan visited a major manufacturer of power generators, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and several scenic spots in the province.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) Ramkalawan said he was deeply impressed by the development of Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan.
He conveyed high hopes that the new direct charter flight linking Chengdu and Seychelles, scheduled to open in November, will significantly enhance tourism and trade between the two nations.
"We want to receive Chinese visitors. And over a couple of years we have missed you. So now we are coming back to say to the visitors of China, please do come to Seychelles where you will be warmly welcomed. And this will also improve of course not only the tourism, but with the direct flight I can see business opportunities. We will be able to export some of our products, like fresh fish products. And on the other hand, I'm sure Chengdu, in Sichuan, businesspeople will be able to explore new opportunities," said Ramkalawan.
Ramkalawan is optimistic that the cooperation between China and African nations will intensify, especially since Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed to elevate the bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China to the level of strategic relations.
Xi made the proposal while delivering a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2024 FOCAC summit.
"The FOCAC Summit was a success, absolute success. And China will remain the biggest partner to Africa. China has been and will be. Because China has shown interest, not only in helping African nations, but also in seeing how to help African nations explore and develop on their own. So the program has been further strengthened with all African countries who have bilateral relations with the People's Republic of China now moving one notch higher. We now have what is termed a strategic partnership agreement. And this basically means that China and Seychelles have agreed that we will continue to work together on the basis of mutual respect," said Ramkalawan.
Ramkalawan said the friendship between China and Seychelles will continue to flourish, setting a positive example for other nations in nurturing diplomatic relations.
President of Seychelles eyes closer ties with China through trade, tourism
