Recently, China's first million-kilowatt-level offshore photovoltaic project—the first batch of power generation units of the National Energy Group Guohua Investment Shandong Kenli 1-million-kilowatt offshore photovoltaic project—was officially connected to the grid. This project is not only the largest offshore photovoltaic project in open sea areas in China, but also the world's first gigawatt (1-million-kilowatt)-level offshore photovoltaic engineering project. During project construction, the ZCC12500 crawler crane of Shanghai Xingyou Engineering Machinery Co., Ltd., the ZCC17000 crawler crane of Zibo Litai Crane Engineering Co., Ltd., and the ZCC18000 crawler crane of Dongying Hongxing Anjie Hoisting Co., Ltd. fully demonstrated their role as major national equipment, deeply participated in construction operations, and set a benchmark for the large-scale development of offshore photovoltaics in China.

The project is located in the open sea area east of Dongying City, Shandong Province, with a sea area of approximately 1,223 hectares and a total installed capacity of 1 gigawatt. A total of 2,934 photovoltaic platforms are installed. Each platform is 60 meters long and 35 meters wide, consists of 780 photovoltaic panels, and adopts pile-foundation fixed construction technology, making it suitable for shallow tidal flats and intertidal zones. After the project is fully put into operation, annual power generation is expected to reach 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours, which can meet the annual electricity demand of 2.67 million urban residents, save 503,800 tons of standard coal per year, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3447 million tons.

At the wharf construction site, workers completed processes such as outrigger assembly, welding, weld inspection, and anti-corrosion coating touch-up. The assembled photovoltaic platforms were then lifted by Zoomlion crawler cranes to the wharf front and transported by ship to the offshore construction area. Each platform weighs hundreds of tons, adopts a 15° tilt design to maximize solar energy reception, and uses a centralized grid-connection scheme in which 26 modules are connected in series for power generation, optimizing power transmission efficiency and reducing energy loss.

It is worth mentioning that the project is the world's first to apply large steel truss platform-type fixed pile foundation technology, solving technical challenges such as wind-wave resistance and ocean current resistance in open sea areas. In addition, the composite transmission technology of 66 kV submarine cables and land cables enables long-distance, large-capacity power transmission, reducing costs and improving grid stability.

With the first batch of units connected to the grid, subsequent construction of the project will be accelerated. After the Spring Festival, the ZCC12500 crawler crane of Shanghai Xingyou Engineering Machinery Co., Ltd., the ZCC17000 crawler crane of Zibo Litai Crane Engineering Co., Ltd., and the ZCC18000 crawler crane of Dongying Hongxing Anjie Hoisting Co., Ltd. have quickly participated in the new year's construction, continuing to contribute to the realization of China's "dual carbon" goals.