China's farthest offshore wind power project under construction installed its first turbine on Thursday, marking the start of full-scale construction and adding to China's broader efforts to ramp up offshore wind power generating capacity and accelerate green energy transition.

The project is located in waters south of Hailing Island in Yangjiang, South China's Guangdong Province, with a total installed capacity of 500 megawatts. The site's center is located 82 kilometers from shore, with its farthest point reaching 89 kilometers offshore, state broadcaster CCTV News reported.

According to the report, the wind farm covers an area of 54 square kilometers, with water depths ranging from 46 to 50 meters.

The project plans to install 31 turbines, each with a capacity of 16.2 megawatts, making it the country's first application of 16.2 MW offshore wind turbines.

Notably, the project will leverage big data and intelligent algorithms to enable real-time condition monitoring, fault diagnosis and coordinated operations and maintenance. These applications are expected to boost wind power generation by about 2 percent, cut the overall failure rate by 20 percent, and increase wind farm returns by 5-10 percent, according to the report.

Once completed, the project will help optimize the energy mix in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by supplying around 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, Li Xiang, an official in charge of the wind farm under developer China Huadian Corporation, quoted by CCTV News as saying.

The project would be enough to meet the yearly power demand of about 700,000 households, while saving 500,000 tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.26 million tons, he added.

The latest development comes as China steps up efforts to advance renewable energy, with offshore wind expected to be a key part of the country's energy transition, analysts said.

"With abundant resources and strong development potential, coupled with continued technological progress and falling costs, offshore wind is positioned to take on the next phase of capacity expansion," Zhu Tong, a research fellow at the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

China has recently made a series of new breakthroughs in offshore wind development. On Tuesday, the country's deepest offshore wind project achieved full-capacity grid connection in northern Yellow Sea, marking progress in deep-water construction and the integration of large-capacity turbines, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

On Sunday, the first batch of units from the China Energy Investment Corp's first offshore wind project in Hainan was connected to the grid, signaling progress in the large-scale operation of high-capacity turbines in the South China Sea, according to the report.

China's offshore wind sector has built a global competitive edge. Data from the National Energy Administration showed that as of the end of February, the country's total installed wind power capacity reached 650 million kilowatts, up 22.8 percent year-on-year, while cumulative offshore wind installations have ranked first in the world for five consecutive years.

The progress in offshore wind development reflects long-term buildup of China's low-carbon industries, where strong manufacturing capacity, complete supply chain and integrated industrial strength have driven global innovation in sectors such as wind and solar power, Zhu said.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China plans to build offshore wind bases in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea, while advancing deep-sea wind power exploration in an orderly manner. The goal is to exceed 100 million kilowatts in cumulative offshore wind grid-connected power.

After years of independent development, China's wind power sector has evolved from relying on imported technology to building its own capabilities and driving innovation, Zhu said, adding "With steady market demand and ongoing technological advances, key challenges are expected to be resolved, laying the groundwork for scaling up offshore wind development.