XCMG's XGC28000 Crawler Crane Completes Installation of the World's First Offshore Floating Wind Power and Aquaculture Project

PUTIAN, China, Nov. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- XGC28000 crawler crane from XCMG Machinery (SHE:000425), has recently completed the wind turbine installation of the world's first offshore floating wind power aquaculture project ("the Project") on Nanri Island of Putian, Fujian Province, marking a new milestone as XCMG further advances the integration and innovation of the alternative energy industry.

"XCMG is committed to building a greener future for future generations, we look forward to collaborating with more partners across the industry and jointly promoting the innovative practices and applications of alternative energy," said Yang Dongsheng, CEO of XCMG.

The Project adopts a three-column semi-submersible platform on which a 4MV offshore wind turbine and lightweight flexible photovoltaic modules are installed. A hexagon-shaped aquaculture zone in the middle of the platform will farm fish and seafood products while producing clean energy. The annual power generated by the Project will reach 16 million kilowatt-hours upon completion, equivalent to the electricity consumption of more than 6,000 average households in a year.

The platform consists of a floating wind turbine and aquaculture cages. XCMG's XGC28000 has installed the 4MV wind turbine. The vessel where the wind turbine is installed has a large width that requires the hoisting equipment to operate at the dock, a challenge for the crawler crane, which must have superb lifting height and capacity under a large operating radius.

The XGC28000 has a maximum rated lifting capacity of 2,000 tons. It adopted a 126-meter main boom that first finished the matching of the 226-ton and 102-ton tower tubes, then assembled the 193-ton engine room with a 42-meter operating radius before hoisting three blades to dock with the wheel hub with precision.

"The super lifting counterweight luffing system of XCMG's 2,000-ton crawler crane has been very useful in this project; the transportation was also convenient and helped us save time and cost," said the project manager from Dalian Xinxiang, the construction party of the Project.

Previously, the XGC28000 had multiple construction records. In 2020, it successfully installed the main reflector of a high-performance receiving antenna at a height of 70 meters, a project by the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As a key piece of data reception for China's Mars exploration, it will become the largest fully movable single-caliber antenna in Asia upon completion.