Article Date: May 20, 2026
The article reports that China Three Gorges Corporation has installed the Three Gorges Pilot, described as the world’s largest single-unit floating offshore wind turbine, off Yangjiang in Guangdong province. The 16 MW turbine is mounted on a semisubmersible floating platform for deep-water locations where fixed-bottom foundations are not practical.
The turbine has a 252-meter rotor span and blade tips reaching more than 270 meters above the water. Its platform is designed to withstand severe offshore conditions, including waves over 20 meters and winds up to 264 km/h, comparable to a Category 5 hurricane.
The project uses a sophisticated mooring system and a 66 kV dynamic subsea cable that can flex with the floating structure while transmitting power. Most of the turbine was assembled on land at Tieshan Port before being towed offshore for testing.
At peak performance, the turbine is expected to generate about 44.65 million kWh per year, enough to power roughly 4,200 U.S. homes annually. The article presents the installation as an important engineering step for expanding floating wind into deeper waters and enabling larger commercial-scale offshore wind projects.
Source: Live Science