Guangdong, a province in southern China, has outlined plans to provide subsidies for offshore wind power projects. The target projects for the subsidies were approved in 2018 and are expected to become operational between the years 2022 and 2024.
Based on the timeline of connection to the grid, the subsidy grants fall in the range equivalent to $78.16 and $234.47 per kW of installed capacity. Projects which get connected earlier are entitled to higher subsidies. The project eligible under these subsidies will not be given other national-level subsidies. The power prices for the electricity produced will be on par with the provincial benchmark tariffs for thermal power.
The province of Guangdong forms China’s largest regional economy and is also the largest consumer of oil and natural gas. To transition away from fossil fuels, this region plans to install 4 GW of offshore wind capacity by the end of 2021 and 18 GW by the end of 2025. Guangdong will stop giving subsidies for projects that start generating power from 2025.
China plans to phase out its feed-in-tariffs after 2021, which is expected to further propel onshore and offshore wind power development in the country. In Asia, China has a dominant share of current operational offshore wind capacity. Having already surpassed its target of 5 GW by 2020, China currently has more than 6 GW of offshore wind capacity.