The Carbon Trust selected to support offshore wind policy development in Guangdong, China

Image
Offshore wind farm China

Guangdong province has the most ambitious offshore wind deployment targets in China, both for installed capacity and local supply chain growth, despite having less than 1 GW installed in early 2020. The project, part of the first round of the CELCEP, will provide support to the Guangdong provincial government to accelerate offshore wind development by learning from the policy models that have been fundamental to success in the UK and across Europe.  

In collaboration with the Guangdong Electricity Design Institute (GEDI) and China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI), the Carbon Trust will work closely with local government to provide recommendations for Guangdong province’s development strategy for offshore wind.

The recommendations will focus on several priority areas for Guangdong, including: 

  • the transition from a national feed-in tariff towards provincial competitive auctions
  • stimulation of local supply chain growth
  • funding prioritisation for technology innovation

Key lessons learned will be shared with relevant national authorities and other Chinese provinces for offshore wind to maximise the project’s impact. 

Successful installation of offshore wind at scale will be paramount for global efforts to deliver on the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5⁰C above pre-industrial levels. The Chinese offshore wind market is at a critical transition stage, and decisions taken in the near term will be fundamental in shaping the landscape for the industry. It is expected that this project can contribute to a long-term mechanism for the development of offshore wind power in China.
 

China commits to carbon neutrality by 2060