China commissions world’s largest open-sea offshore solar photovoltaic project

China has commissioned the world’s largest open-sea offshore solar photovoltaic project, a 1-gigawatt (GW) installation located off the coast of Dongying in Shandong province.

Developed by Guohua Energy Investment Co., a subsidiary of state-owned China Energy Investment Corp (CHN Energy), this facility has achieved full grid connection and entered commercial operation in late December 2025.

The offshore PV plant often cited as the largest of its kind globally occupies roughly 1,223 hectares of shallow coastal waters about 8 km from shore, with individual water depths between 1 m and 4 m. It comprises 2,934 steel PV platforms, each supported by nearly 11,736 steel piles,and uses more than 2.3 million high-efficiency solar modules, making it China’s first gigawatt-scale fixed-pile offshore solar project.

Electricity generated by the project is transmitted to land via a 66 kV subsea cable system linked to onshore infrastructure, along with a 100 MW/200 MWh energy storage system that helps enhance grid stability and flexibility.

Due to cooler marine conditions and reflective sea surfaces, the offshore array achieves higher energy yield compared with typical onshore installations.

Once fully operational, the plant is expected to produce around 1.78 billion kWh (1.78 TWh) of electricity annually. This output is equivalent to meeting the electricity needs of roughly 2.67 million urban residents in China, significantly reducing reliance on fossil fuels by avoiding approximately 1.34 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions and saving over 500,000 tonnes of coal every year.