Chinese province seeks proposals for 11.5 GW of offshore PV

The authorities in China’s Shandong province have identified 10 offshore sites close to the coastline where 11.5 GW of solar projects could be constructed. Binzhou, Dongying, Weifang, Yantai, Weihai, and Qingdao are some of the preferred areas.
The provincial energy administration of China’s Shandong province has issued a tender for the deployment of 11.5 GW of floating PV plants.

The provincial authorities have already identified 10 offshore sites along Shandong’s coast where the projects could be constructed. Binzhou, Dongying, Weifang, Yantai, Weihai, and Qingdao are some of the preferred areas.

“The project will be assigned to developers with excellent models, advanced equipment, good technical solutions, and reasonable construction periods,” the administration said, noting that interested developers have until Jun. 1 to submit their proposals.
Upon implementation, the scheme will mark the global industry’s biggest effort to date to deploy offshore solar on a large scale. Currently, the largest announced installation is a 100 MW project under development by Italian gas contractor Saipem. But thus far, only small pilot projects have been built in offshore waters.