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https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20251006-the-typhoon-proof-wind-farms-powering-chinas-coast>
“In southern China's Guangdong province, a new skyline is taking shape away
from its shores: hundreds of wind turbines have been installed in the South
China Sea to generate renewable electricity for homes, offices and factories.
The enormous towers – some as tall as 30-storey buildings – are a symbol of
China's ambition for a greener future. Guangdong, one of the country's offshore
wind hubs, is already home to about 15% of all turbines installed in the ocean
worldwide. Over the next five years, the local government plans to more than
double that fleet.
These turbines are on the frontline of one of the most destructive weather
phenomena on Earth, which hits China's coast year after year: typhoons,
tropical cyclones originating in the northwest Pacific.
These powerful storms bring winds at speeds of 119km/h (74mph) or higher. They
terrorise East and Southeast Asian countries every May to November, and often
leave a trail of death and destruction, including collapsed buildings and
flooded streets. Typhoon Ragasa, which devastated southern China in September
and was the world's most powerful storm this year, reached speeds of 241km/h
(150mph). Typhoons are the same phenomenon as hurricanes: they are both
spinning storms fed by warm air, and just go by different names depending on
where they occur. If they originate in the North Atlantic and northeast
Pacific, they are called hurricanes; in the northwest Pacific, they are called
typhoons.
However, the swathes of China's coastal regions that face typhoons multiple
times a year, also have the best offshore wind resources, says Zhu Ronghua,
director of Yangjiang Offshore Wind Energy Laboratory, an institute supported
by the Guangdong government. The challenge, he says, is to build wind farms
that are able to reap the typhoon's energy.
"It is extremely important that turbines installed in those regions can not
only resist typhoons, but also harness the strong gusts in the lead up to their
arrival," Zhu says.
Chinese companies are at the forefront of the research, development and
commercial deployment of typhoon-resistant wind turbines, says Qiao Liming, who
at the time of the interview was chief strategy officer for Asia at Global Wind
Energy Council (GWEC), a global trade body for the wind power sector.
"The Chinese government has made a strategic decision to make offshore wind a
cornerstone of its 'dual‑carbon' goals," Qiao says. The goals refer to peaking
carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.”
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
