China is continuing its push to pull energy out of the oceans, with wind, waves and tides all now being harnessed off its coasts.
A recent report from state-media outlet the People’s Daily highlights China’s growing development of ocean energy, particularly from waves.
The outlet says the government is conducting a marine energy survey to scale up energy generation, including offshore wind and wave power, in coastal areas nationwide. This comes after marine energy utilisation emerged as a focus in the 15th Five-Year Plan period, which runs from 2026 to 2030.
Earlier this year, the government published a policy paper on scaling up ocean energy, setting a target of 400 megawatt-hours (MWh) of installed capacity by 2030. As of 2023, the capacity stood only at around 12 MWh.
Wind, tidal, thermal and salinity-gradient energy will all be harnessed. China’s wave power resources are concentrated in the South China Sea, specifically around southern Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan.
Wave energy is currently a small part of ocean energy, both in China and globally, but advocates say it has huge potential.
Its development is considered strategically important for the nation not least as it can secure power supplies to remote islands. Liang Xiaobing, the deputy chief engineer of the Southern Power Grid Research Institute, told People’s Daily that wave power devices could alleviate such islands’ reliance on diesel power.
China has developed the world’s first megawatt-level floating wave power station, Nankun, which began trials in June 2023. Located south of Zhuhai, Guangdong, the station can generate up to 10 MWh daily, enough to power around 1,500 homes, according to reports.
Wave-energy faces challenges such as inefficiency in converting wave energy to useable power. Equipment must be able to survive harsh marine conditions chosen for their strong waves.
Chinese power expert Wang Wei told People’s Daily that Nankun’s generators can adjust their capacity based on wave size. When a typhoon hits, it can be submerged to avoid damage, he adds.
Off Wanshan Island in Zhuhai, another wave-energy generation project – named Wanshan – was connected to the island’s grid in 2017, supplying electricity to its residents.
Other countries such as the US, Australia, EU, and UK have also invested in developing wave energy. Similar to the schemes in China, most of these projects remain in the research and trial stages and have yet to fully realise the vast potential advocates insist is there.