CGN commissions 400MW offshore floating solar project in China

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The construction of China's first large-scale floating offshore solar project.
Grand Sunergy provided its Seapower series of modules to the project. Image: Grand Sunergy.

Chinese renewable power developer CGN New Energy Holdings has commissioned a 400MW offshore floating solar project in Laizhou Bay, the first large-scale deep-water offshore solar project in the country.

Located in the Bohai Sea, near Zhaoyuan City in the province of Shandong, the project covers 6.4 square kilometres and consists of 121 PV sub-arrays. Chinese module manufacturer Grand Sunergy provided its Seapower series of modules for the project, bifacial panels that use heterojunction (HJT) cells to maximise electricity output.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The manufacturer notes that its modules use rubber edge sealing and a waterproof junction box to improve the modules’ resiliency in an environment where electricals can become damaged by high humidity and the threat of salt spray. The company claims that the presence of the edge sealing processes means the modules’ water permeability has been reduced by 99.9% “compared to industry standards”.

Considering China’s dominance of the global solar sector, the commissioning of the country’s first utility-scale deep-water floating PV project is an important milestone for the country’s solar industry. Figures from S&P Global suggest that floating solar projects will play a larger role in China’s energy mix, with more than 3.5GW set to come online by 2030. China and India are expected to account for the majority of new floating capacity additions, collectively accounting for 43% of the 20GW S&P Global expects to be commissioned by the end of the decade.

Floating solar developments have seen increased attention in recent months, with developers keen to maximise solar electricity generation without taking up large swathes of land, an increasingly scarce resource as solar projects become larger. For example, earlier this month, Malaysian firm Cypark Resources Berhad commissioned a 100MW solar project, which includes 35MW of floating solar.

This drive towards new floating solar projects is clear in Europe, too, with developers in Italy and the Netherlands announcing plans to install more than 100MW of new floating solar capacity.

10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Eni subsidiary Plentiude has started operations at the northern block of its 330MW Renopool solar portfolio in Spain.
Premium
June 27, 2025
PV Talk: '2024 was a transformational year in terms of energy policy,' says Monika Paplaczyk ahead of this year's Clean Power 2030 Summits.
Premium
June 26, 2025
Carlos Rodriguez, Oktoviano Gandhi and Sun Huixuan examine the energy yield performance of different FPV system configurations.
June 24, 2025
Chinese solar manufacturing giant LONGi has signed an agreement with Indonesia’s Pertamina New & Renewable Energy to build a 1.4GW module assembly plant in West Java, Indonesia.
June 24, 2025
FRV has started commercial operations at its 55MW Masrik-1 PV project in Armenia, the largest to enter operation in the country.
June 24, 2025
The Chinese polysilicon industry could face a shortage by 2028, despite persistent overcapacity in recent years, according to polysilicon market analyst Bernreuter Research.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico