The world's largest offshore converter station, known as the "Heart of Offshore Wind," has arrived at the installation site of the Qingzhou offshore wind farm in Yangjiang, south China's Guangdong Province. Offshore float-over installation operations are scheduled to begin on Thursday.

The "Heart of Offshore Wind" is the world's first ±500-kilovolt, 2,000-megawatt flexible DC offshore converter station. Its deck covers an area nearly equivalent to a standard football field, stands about as tall as a 15-story building, and weighs approximately 25,000 tonnes.

Due to its massive weight, which exceeds the lifting capacity of existing domestic marine crane vessels, the project will employ an advanced float-over installation method, an internationally recognized technique for positioning large offshore structures.

Once completed, the converter station will collect, step up and convert alternating current generated by 163 wind turbines at the Phase V and Phase VII sections of the Three Gorges Yangjiang Qingzhou offshore wind farm into direct current. The electricity will then be transmitted to the onshore power grid via subsea cables.

The facility is expected to deliver around 6 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, providing a significant boost to China's renewable energy supply.