China's state-owned CHN Energy has begun power generation at a 1 gigawatt (GW) offshore floating solar park, according to a statement on the company's website on Wednesday.
Developed by subsidiary Guohua Energy Investment Co, the park is 8 km (5 miles) off the coast of the city of Dongying in Shandong province and can generate 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours of power each year. That can power the consumption of 2.6 million urban residents, the statement said.
In May, state-owned China National Nuclear Corp started construction on a 2 GW offshore solar plant near the coast of eastern Jiangsu province, the Global Times reported then. It is located in the area earmarked for the warm water discharge from the Tianwan nuclear plant.
Floating solar, in which modules are installed either on pontoons close to the sea level or platforms elevated above the water, is seen as a potential solution for space-constrained areas that still allows power to be generated near demand centres.
(Reuters - Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)