GE will also establish a new Operation and Development Center in the city of Guangzhou
Image: Rendering of GE’s new offshore wind turbine factory in China. Photo: Courtesy of General Electric.
GE Renewable Energy has announced that it will build a new offshore wind turbine factory at Jieyang’s Offshore Wind cluster in the Chinese province of Guangdong.
GE will also establish a new Operation and Development Center in the city of Guangzhou. The new factory in Jieyang will help in meeting with the growing demand for offshore wind energy in the country.
Construction at the site is expected to begin by the end of this year and will be completed in 2021. Assembly production could begin in the second half of 2021.
As per GE, the offshore wind factory is part of an offshore wind industrial park in Jieyang, which aims to develop offshore wind cluster with a harbor and industry-related suppliers, to support local and regional projects.
GE will also conduct research focused on local offshore requirements
The new Operation and Development Center in Guangzhou will conduct research and development activities focused on local and regional requirements. It will also support customers in optimising project costs, training, data management and operation and maintenance services.
Besides, the new site will act as a regional regional sales and project management office for GE Renewable Energy’s Offshore Wind business.
GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind CEO John Lavelle said: “China is poised to become one of the largest offshore wind markets in the world, and according to Guangdong’s Offshore Development Master Plan, 66 GW will come from the Guangdong region alone towards 2030. The cutting-edge technology of our Haliade-X 12 MW, the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine, will bring value to our customers in the region.
“Our new factory in Jieyang and the Operation & Development Center in Guangzhou 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.”
The new offshore wind factory will serve Chinese regional projects, while GE’s Saint-Nazaire assembly site in France, which will produce Haliade-X 12 MW prototype, will continue to serve all other international projects.
Together, the two facilities are expected to help GE in meeting the growing demand for global offshore wind energy, by supplying Haliade-X 12 MW.
GE global growth markets president and CEO Rachel Duan 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. The agreements we signed today represent not only GE’s continued investment in China but also a significant milestone as we accelerate GE’s growth strategies in the market through the three pillars of ‘localization, partnership and digital’.”