Aluminum is an excellent material for offshore wind power projects and shore-based facilities.

In recent years, China's offshore wind power construction has achieved remarkable results. From January to April this year, offshore wind power generation was 9.94 billion kWh. According to statistics, the average utilization hours of offshore wind power in China is about 2500 hours, with an average of 6.85 hours per day, which is lower than that of Norway and slightly higher than that of the United States, but about 500 hours higher than the average annual utilization hours of domestic onshore wind power. This year, the proportion of wind power and photovoltaic power generation in social electricity consumption will reach 11%, and it will increase year by year.

Three major offshore power plants are connected to the grid one after another.

China has more than 12000 kilometers of coastline, two major islands, and nearly 30 power stations have been connected to the grid. In the first half of this year, three offshore wind farms were connected to the grid one after another: Zhuhai offshore wind farm-Delta Island Guishan Phase II, Shandong's first offshore wind farm-Haiyang South No. 4 offshore wind power project, and Jiangsu Sheyang Longyuan Wind Farm.

The Zhuhai offshore wind farm was connected to the grid in August. The development of offshore wind power is one of the best ways to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutralization in Guangdong Province. In 2020, the total installed capacity of offshore wind power in Guangdong Province is 66.85 million kW, which is the largest province in China, and the development prospect is broad. In particular, the 8-MW integrated test platform for offshore wind turbines of Guishan Phase II wind farm on Zhuhai Delta Island has been officially put into operation, which strongly supports the large-scale development of large-capacity offshore wind turbines in Guangdong to be in the forefront of the country.

The blades of 3MW's small fan can generate electricity of about 3kWH per turn. 6MW wind turbine blades of 6MW wind turbine can generate 7kWh-8kWh per turn. Zhuhai Guishan Wind Farm is the first offshore wind power demonstration project in Guangdong Province, which can be completed and put into operation by the end of the year, providing 493 million kWh of clean electricity each year, saving about 160200 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 382500 tons, which is of positive significance to promoting Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area's energy conservation and emission reduction and optimizing and adjusting the energy structure of Electroweb.

By June this year, the total installed capacity of Guangdong Electroweb's first grid-connected offshore wind power project had reached 2.6 million kW,. Guangdong's offshore wind power grid-connected capacity is expected to exceed 4 million kW, by the end of the year, quadrupling the grid-connected scale by the end of last year. In addition, in order to better serve the grid-connected consumption of offshore wind power projects, Guangdong Electroweb has accelerated the construction of new energy delivery projects to ensure that offshore wind power 400kW will be put into production by the end of the year.

The installed capacity of offshore wind power in Sheyang Longyuan, Yancheng, Jiangsu Province has exceeded 40, 000 kW. With the Sheyang Longyuan H2 offshore wind power project officially connected to the grid on April 11, the installed capacity of new energy in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province has reached 10.0476 million kW. Yancheng is endowed with unique wind energy resources, and the total exploitable wind power along the coast accounts for more than 2% of the total wind energy exploitable in Jiangsu Province. As of last year, the scale of offshore wind power in Yancheng reached 3.52 million kW. In order to realize the effective grid connection of offshore wind power, Jiangsu Province, on the basis of the existing two transmission channels for north-to-south power transmission, is promoting the construction of 500kV coastal transmission channels in coastal cities such as Yancheng Nantong, so as to better meet the needs of large-scale continuous development of offshore wind power and expansion to COSCO sea areas.

The first offshore wind farm in Shandong is connected to the grid to generate electricity. On September 12, with the operation of five wind turbines in the 10th circuit of the No. 4 offshore wind power project in Shandong Peninsula, 30 km from the Haiyang coastline of Shandong Province, the first offshore power plant in Shandong was successfully connected to the grid, achieving a breakthrough in offshore wind power. This wind power project is the first offshore wind power demonstration project in Shandong Province, with a total installed capacity of 301.6MW. The wind farm is equipped with a 220kV offshore booster station and an onshore centralized control center. The wind farm and between the fans and the offshore booster station are connected by laying 35kV submarine cable, and the total length of the submarine cable is 90km. According to reports, before the end of the year, 58 offshore wind turbines in South Shandong Peninsula can be connected to the grid with full capacity, which is of positive significance in promoting the transformation and upgrading of Shandong's energy structure and speeding up the realization of the "double carbon" goal.

Aluminum is an excellent material for offshore wind power projects and shore-based facilities.

Among the metal materials for the construction of marine equipment and shore-based facilities, aluminum alloy is the best, has the best comprehensive performance and the highest performance-to-price ratio, has low density, is resistant to seawater erosion and marine atmosphere corrosion, and does not require daily maintenance during operation. after 20 or 30 years of service, all aluminum parts and structures can be fully recycled, and the total loss after melting is less than 5%. It has the highest recovery rate of all structural metals and can form a benign closed cycle. The author roughly calculated that in the metal materials used in fan systems (blades, connecting seats, risers, drives, fixed piles and platforms, etc.) and shore-based facilities, aluminum can be used for more than 75%, and industrial pure aluminum, 5XXX alloys and 6XXX alloys can be used. Under the condition of ensuring safe operation, offshore structures should be made of 5XXX alloy, because it has the strongest corrosion resistance to sea water.

Fan structures such as blades, connecting seats, column tubes, etc., are best manufactured by 3D printing process. 3D printing, also known as increasing material manufacturing, is a new process that has been introduced in the past 30 years. As soon as 3D printing technology appeared, it showed a remarkable posture, becoming a universal manufacturing process, which can make any product, from large buildings to small human bones and joints. Scientific and technological personnel in our country have fully mastered this advanced and cutting-edge technology. at present, the connecting ring of a large rocket barrel with a diameter of 10m has been successfully printed with 2219 aluminum alloy, with a mass of about 1t, and it has been manufactured in only one month, which is faster than the traditional process and uses less materials. In order to save materials, shorten manufacturing time, improve performance and economic benefits, it is suggested that relevant aluminum processing enterprises set up specialized manufacturing projects for 3D printing offshore wind power generation equipment.

China is the global leader in wind power, with installed capacity exceeding that of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America combined this year. There are only two grid-connected offshore wind power projects in the United States this year, one off the coast of Rhode Island and Virginia, but fewer than 10 wind turbines (turbines) are in operation. In contrast, Europe's offshore wind power industry is booming. Germany, Denmark and Britain have deployed 60 to 70 giant wind turbines near the coast. Under this situation, US President Joe Biden hopes to rapidly develop zero-emission energy. By 2030, the installed capacity of offshore wind power in the United States will reach 30GW to mitigate the impact of climate change and create more jobs.