Chinese wind turbine manufacturer MingYang Smart Energy has launched the first floating offshore wind tower and turbine ever built in China, a 5.5MW turbine.

MingYang Smart Energy revealed the achievement in a LinkedIn post , announcing that the company’s MySE5.5MW typhoon-resistant floating wind turbine had begun rolling off its production line and a prototype had been constructed at MingYang’s Yangjiang manufacturing facility in the south of China.

The landmark achievement marks the first time a Chinese-made floating wind turbine prototype has been successfully installed.

Designed to meet the harsh environments common for the South China Sea region, including typhoons and extreme waves, the demonstration MySE5.5MW floating turbine will now be towed out to the site of China Three Gorges (CTG) 400 MW Yangxi Shapa III offshore wind farm.

MingYang has already been contracted to supply 31 of its ySE6.45-180 fixed-bottom wind turbines for the project, and is using its existing partnership to demonstrate the viability of its semi-submersible floating foundation and floating turbine.

The first 300 MW phase began delivering power at the end of November 2019, while phases 2 through 5 all entered construction simultaneously at the end of February 2020

China Three Gorges’ Yangxi Shapa offshore wind farm is divided into five phases of an eventual 1.7GW capacity.