ZPMC Ships World's Largest Offshore Converter Station for Offshore Installation

Project Expected to Deliver Approximately 6 Billion kWh of Renewable Electricity Per Year

SHANGHAI, May 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 27, the Haifeng Heart offshore converter station, the world's largest of its kind built by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (ZPMC), was shipped from Nantong, Jiangsu Province, to waters off Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, where it will undergo offshore installation. Once completed and commissioned, the project is expected to supply approximately 6 billion kWh of renewable electricity annually, supporting large-scale offshore wind power generation and China's decarbonization efforts.

Haifeng Heart will serve the centralized subsea cable transmission project for the Three Gorges Yangjiang Qingzhou V and Qingzhou VII offshore wind farms. The project features six record-setting engineering achievements:

• Largest offshore converter station, with a single-unit capacity of 2,000 MW and an industry-leading level of equipment integration;
• Highest-capacity offshore wind project, with a total installed capacity of 2,000 MW, enabling the integration of large-scale renewable energy into the grid;
• Highest-voltage offshore wind flexible DC transmission project, operating at ±500 kV, extending the application of flexible DC technology in offshore wind power;
• First offshore wind project combining AC and DC transmission, enabling coordinated offshore transmission of both AC and DC power;
• First centralized offshore wind flexible DC transmission project, reducing offshore engineering costs through a highly integrated design;
• First application of ±525 kV DC subsea cables, overcoming key technical challenges in the installation and operation of high-voltage subsea cables.

Haifeng Heart is an eight-story steel structure platform measuring approximately 85.5 meters long, 82.5 meters wide, and 44 meters high, with a total weight of about 25,000 tons. It was constructed using a modular fabrication approach, with onshore assembly, equipment integration, and installation progressing in parallel, placing high demands on supply chain coordination and manufacturing management.

ZPMC Senior Specialist Yan Bing said the company adopted an integrated construction model featuring "onshore assembly, transport as a single unit, and float-over installation," improving efficiency and execution quality while providing a model for future projects of this type.

Offshore converter stations serve as the central hub of deepwater offshore wind projects. By converting offshore AC into DC, they reduce transmission losses over long-distance subsea cables, unlocking access to high-quality wind resources located more than 100 kilometers from shore and supporting expansion into deeper and more remote waters.