China’s CHN Energy completes world’s largest open sea floating solar PV project

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The floating solar PV project is located in the Shandong Province of China. Image: CHN Energy.

State-owned China Energy Investment Corporation (CHN Energy) has completed a 1GW floating solar PV facility in the Shandong Province of China.

In a statement released on Wednesday (13 November), CHN Energy said it had successfully connected the project to the grid, claiming it is the “first and largest of its kind in the world”. Its subsidiary, Guohua Energy Investment, completed the installation.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The floating solar power plant is situated around 8km off the coast of Dongying City, on the eastern coast of China, adjacent to the Bohai Sea.

CHN said the project spans an area of around 1,223 hectares and features 2,934 solar PV platforms installed using large-scale offshore steel truss platform fixed pile foundations.

The floating solar PV project also includes a 66kV offshore cable paired with an onshore cable, marking a first for the Chinese market.

Additionally, the project utilises an integrated fishing and solar PV development model, combining fish farming with PV power generation to enhance the comprehensive utilisation of the marine area.

China’s focus on international floating solar PV

Floating solar PV continues to attract international attention. Last year, China Energy Engineering Corporation, another arm of China Energy, proposed building another 1GW floating solar PV installation in Zimbabwe. It is worth noting that Africa and China have grown increasingly closer politically, with China regarded as the continent’s largest trading partner.

The floating solar facility in Zimbabwe would be developed at the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River, Africa’s fourth largest river. The river runs through Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique before it merges with the Indian Ocean.

According to a Reuters report, the project would involve US$987 million in investment. It would deploy around 1.8 million solar PV modules on the reservoir at the top of the Kariba Dam, the largest man-made lake in the world.

Domestically, China is also looking to increase its installed capacity of floating solar PV. Yet another arm of China Energy, CGN New Energy Holdings, commissioned a 400MW offshore solar PV project in August 2024. The facility would be located in the Laizhou Bay and is claimed to be the first large-scale deep-water offshore solar project in the country.

Also located in the Bohai Sea, near Zhaoyuan City to the east of Dongying City, the project covers 6.4 square kilometres and features 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.

PV Tech Premium has previously analysed the changing technological profile of floating solar construction, and the most recent issue of our downstream journal, PV Tech Power, featured a deep dive into the future of offshore floating solar, from pilot projects to larger scale.

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

October 3, 2025
Renewables developer Madison Energy Infrastructure has bought the US distributed generation assets of NextEra Energy Resources.
October 3, 2025
Chinese government policies and supply-side production cuts will drive a significant increase in solar and storage component costs.
Premium
October 2, 2025
Australia's solar sector delivered a strong September performance in the National Electricity Market (NEM) as the country entered spring, with combined solar PV generation reaching 3,933GWh - a 17.83% increase from August's 3,338GWh.
October 2, 2025
Spanish waste management company Trabede and energy firm Greening Group will build a solar module recycling plant in Granada, Andalusia, Spain.
October 2, 2025
The European solar sector will lose around 5% of its jobs in 2025, the first contraction in employment for the sector in nearly a decade.
October 2, 2025
PV products using perovskite technology could assume a dominant position within the next ten years, according to module producer Qcells' CTO.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland