GE Renewable Energy has taken a major step to cement its offshore wind operations in China.
The company has announced that it will open a new offshore wind factory in the Chinese province of Guangdong and also establish a new operation and development centre in the city of Guangzhou.
GE Renewable Energy’s offshore wind chief executive John Lavelle said that China “is poised to become one of the largest offshore wind markets in the world” and added that the new factory and operation centre “will put us in a better position to meet our customer’s demands in this fast-growing industry, while contributing to meet China’s growing offshore wind ambitions”.
Construction on the factory is due to start at the end of this year, with completion targeted for early 2021 and offshore wind turbine assembly production kicking off later that year when it will make GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW turbine.
The factory will be part of an established offshore wind industrial park in Jieyang which has been step up to develop an windpower business cluster.
Lavelle said that according to Guangdong’s Offshore Development Master Plan, “66 GW will come from the Guangdong region alone towards 2030”.
And Rachel Duan, president of GE’s Global Growth Markets division, said: “As one of China’s strategic offshore wind development centers and a key growth region for GE in China, Guangdong is an ideal place to develop our offshore wind business.
She said that GE’s investments in Guangdong “will bring together advanced manufacturing, operations and development, services and digital applications, together with relevant suppliers, to form an offshore wind business ecosystem that closely and effectively serves the needs of customers in China and the rest of Asia, while pushing forward China’s clean energy ambitions”.
Meanwhile, the new Operation and Development Centre in Guangzhou will carry out R&D work and will also be the regional sales and project management base for GE Renewable Energy’s offshore wind business.
