QINGDAO -- A Chinese-developed, self-elevating wind turbine installation platform was delivered on Nov 16 in Qingdao City in east China's Shandong Province, to be used in large-scale wind turbine hoisting operations in offshore wind farms in China's coastal waters.
The platform named "Huaxi 1600" is 136 meters long and has four spud legs and large cranes, with the main crane, the highest in China, capable of lifting loads up to 1,600 tons.

The platform's lifting system is the fastest of its kind in China, enabling it to be raised from a floating state to a standing position at a depth of 70 meters in roughly 3 hours.

"The self-elevating platform can move along the piling legs with the backing of its own gear box, which allows it to stand solidly on the seabed. It can operate in all the construction scenarios of wind farms being built and planned in China since it can be elevated to a maximum height of more than 70 meters above sea level and has a 70-meter designed working depth," said Guo Zhenqiang, technical manager of the "Huaxi 1600" project team at Wuhan Marine Machinery Plant Co., Ltd.

With a total investment of over one billion yuan (138 million U.S. dollars), the "Huaxi 1600" is currently the truss-type pile leg wind power installation platform with the deepest water depth, the strongest comprehensive installation capacity, the most complete function and the highest efficiency in China. It can meet the needs of integrated offshore wind power construction operations, and is expected to greatly improve China's offshore wind power construction capabilities.

China's cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind power exceeds 30 million kilowatts, the highest in the world.