The world's first 16-megawatt tension-leg floating wind platform, Haiyou Anlan, started operation on Thursday after connecting to the power grid of the Lufeng oilfield in the South China Sea, according to the operator China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

The successful deployment demonstrates that China's floating wind equipment technology has reached an advanced global level and provides a new technical solution for expanding offshore wind resources into deeper waters.

A tension-leg floating wind platform is a large-scale offshore structure specifically designed for deep-sea wind development, which consists of an upper floating structure, a seabed anchoring foundation and a mooring system.

The platform has been installed at 136 kilometers offshore in waters with a depth of 136 meters. It stands nearly as high as a 110-story building and is equipped with a 16-megawatt wind turbine designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, including typhoons as powerful as Category 17, with a service life of 25 years.

The platform is connected to the Lufeng oilfield's electricity network through a 4.3-kilometer subsea cable. Since wind power generation fluctuates depending on weather conditions, the platform has pioneered an integrated multi-source power supply model that combines offshore wind power, fuel-based generation and energy storage systems, enabling a high proportion of offshore wind power to be connected to the oilfield's power network.

After operation, the platform is expected to provide 54 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity to the oilfield annually, saving about 15,000 cubic meters of fuel oil and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 35,000 tonnes.