China unveils colossal floating energy device with staggering power: 'The scale of the new unit is immense'

The massive, recently deployed Qihang floating wind turbine can power a family home for up to four days with just one spin of its long, fast-moving blades, according to a report from Interesting Engineering. 

It's China's latest "world's largest power-class floating" turbine. The country often makes headlines for its huge wind catchers, and this one has been set upright and floated into testing position by developer China Railway Construction Corp. The company claimed it's a record-setter for offshore turbines of its type, all per IE's story. 

For reference, it has an 853-foot wind rotor diameter and a hub height of 495 feet. 

"This operation is expected to save about 25,000 tons of coal consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 62,000 tons annually," IE's Kaif Shaikh reported. 

China has been busy developing sturdy, ocean-based wind collectors. Mingyang last year shared news about a typhoon-proof platform, for example.

Data collector Statista reported that offshore wind installations have grown quickly since 2009. In 2023, the last year on the chart, there were 72,663 megawatts reported. In 2009, there were only 2,134 megawatts installed globally, all per Statista. 

The expansion has inspired some unique innovations. In Denmark, experts are developing energy islands that are planned to be built far offshore as hubs to collect electricity generated from sea-based wind farms. The hubs will manage the energy and send it to the coast via cable. 

U.S. offshore wind had a growing sector as well. The Department of Energy reported in its 2024 summary that "project development and operational pipeline" had grown 53% since the last update, noting undeveloped lease opportunities in the Gulf of Maine, in the mid-Atlantic, and off the coast of Oregon.  

But the breeze stateside may be slowing under President Donald Trump. He has temporarily withdrawn wind leasing options for "all areas on the outer continental shelf" as the government's policy is reviewed. A message from the White House cited national energy security and the farms' impact on marine life and ocean currents as some of the reasons for the move. 

Should we be harnessing the ocean to power our homes? Absolutely 👍 Leave it be 👎 It depends 🤔 I'm not sure 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Sierra, the Sierra Club's magazine, reported that noise during construction and operation may impact whale migration. The animals could take longer routes to avoid the developed areas, the 2022 article stated. 

"At the scale we're talking about on the East Coast of the U.S. right now, they are highly manageable," Wildlife and Offshore Wind Director Douglas Nowacek told Sierra about wind farms and their impact on ocean mammal populations. 

The report also highlighted the turbines' ability to produce cleaner electricity, helping reduce the production of heat-trapping air pollution. The fumes are linked by NASA to increased risks for severe weather and worst-case environmental and public health scenarios from Earth's overheating. 

"The environmental consequences of not speeding up offshore wind development are arguably worse than delaying it," per Sierra. 

Instead, Trump has vowed to ramp up oil and gas production, including offshore drilling for fossil fuels, according to The Associated Press. The Natural Resources Defense Council reported that offshore drilling carries significant risk to marine life too. The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster off the Louisiana coast is one example. 

As a result, nixing offshore wind while allowing ocean-based oil drilling is a seemingly odd policy when it's at least partly done in the name of marine life safety. 

For its part, Qihang's air pollution reduction potential, which is noted by IE, stands as tall evidence of the cleaner-energy potential of wind power. 

The turbine's makers tout reusable and scalable parts as well as a sophisticated network of safety sensors as part of the tower's design, per the story. 

"The scale of the new unit is immense," Shaikh wrote. 

We all can take some easy steps inland to reduce air pollution. Simply unplugging unused chargers and devices every night can shave around $165 off your electricity bill annually while reducing planet-warming fumes.

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