With 33 18-MW-class turbines, China’s largest wind farm promises 6.6 billion kWh yearly

China’s first large-scale offshore wind power project built around 18-megawatt ultra-large turbines reached full-capacity operation Thursday, according to China General Nuclear Power Corporation. The milestone marks a new phase for the country’s offshore wind industry, which is pushing toward larger turbine capacity, higher efficiency and lower costs.

The Yangjiang Fanshi offshore wind farm sits about 50 miles (81 kilometers) off the coast of Guangdong Province and consists of two sub-projects, each rated at 1 million kilowatts, for a combined 2 million kilowatts of capacity. The full site includes 131 wind turbines in total.

Turbines built at scale

Of those, 33 are 18-megawatt-class turbines, currently the largest single-unit capacity model deployed in batches anywhere in China. Each turbine carries a rotor 958 feet (292 meters) across, with blades sweeping an area of about 710,000 square feet (66,000 square meters), roughly equal to nine standard football fields.

Chen Youdeng, project manager for CGN’s Yangjiang offshore wind operation, said a single full rotation of the rotor at full load generates about 43 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to cover an average household’s daily power use for nine straight days. He added that one turbine alone can produce up to 56 million kilowatt-hours over a year.

Big turbines, lower costs

Deploying turbines at this scale lets CGN cut the total number of turbine positions needed across the site, reducing costs tied to laying submarine cables, building offshore foundations and occupying sea area. Altogether, the Fanshi project is expected to deliver more than 6.6 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity to the grid each year.

CGN estimates that output is equivalent to saving about 1.92 million tons of standard coal annually while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 5.1 million tons. The power is intended to help supply the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with cleaner energy.

Part of a bigger trend

Sun Chuanwang, a professor at Xiamen University, said offshore wind farms sited near coastal population centers can supply clean power close to where it is needed most, easing reliance on fossil fuels. He added that pairing offshore wind development with port-side manufacturing could support growth across China’s coastal regions more broadly.

The milestone arrives as China’s overall power sector keeps expanding. By the end of August, the country’s total installed power generation capacity reached 4.10 billion kilowatts, up 11.1% from a year earlier, according to the National Energy Administration. Installed wind power capacity specifically rose 19.6% to 693 million kilowatts over the same period.

China accounted for 78% of all newly grid-connected offshore wind capacity added worldwide in 2025, according to an industry report released in June, keeping the country in the lead globally for offshore wind deployment.