Construction of China's first national offshore wind power research and test base started in Fuqing City, east China's Fujian Province on Friday, the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) announced on Saturday.

Jointly invested in by State Grid, China Huadian Corporation Ltd., and Power Construction Corporation of China, the offshore wind power base will consist of a land test center and a test wind farm, and is slated to be put into operation in 2024.

Upon completion, the base will integrate functions of simulation analysis, operation testing, characteristic evaluation, and technology research and development, which will play a fundamental role in and have a demonstration effect for breaking through core technologies of offshore wind power, according to the State Grid Fujian Electric Power Co., Ltd.

It will also be capable of supporting the world's cutting-edge research such as empirical studies on large capacity offshore wind turbines, the State Grid branch said.

Fuqing City has become a highland of China's offshore wind power equipment industry.

Last February, the country's first 13-megawatt typhoon-resistant offshore wind turbine with the largest single-unit capacity and the largest impeller diameter in Asia rolled off the production line in the city.

The world's first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine rolled off the production line there last June, and more recently, the city also witnessed a giant offshore direct-drive wind turbine with the world's largest unit capacity and the largest impeller to roll off the assembly line.

(With input from Xinhua)