China's first gigawatt-level offshore photovoltaic (PV) project, currently the largest open-sea solar installation in the world, has been fully connected to the grid, marking a major milestone in the nation's renewable energy development, according to China Energy Investment Corporation on Friday.

Located off the coast of Kenli District in Dongying City of east China's Shandong Province, the project covers an area of more than 1,200 hectares. It comprises 2,934 massive offshore PV platforms, each measuring 60 meters long and 35 meters wide, equivalent to five standard basketball courts.

Developed by the Guohua Energy Investment Company, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Energy Investment Corporation, the project pioneers several technological innovations.

It marks the first time in China that a 66-kilovolt offshore cable paired with an onshore cable was used for high-capacity, long-distance transmission in the PV sector, offering greater transmission capacity at lower costs.

The project is expected to serve as a model for the development of large-scale offshore PV projects in the industry.

"The project employs a fixed-pile foundation technique using large-scale steel trusses in an innovative way. The structure features a 'four-pile foundation plus solar platform' design, with panels tilted at a precisely calibrated 15 degrees. This not only withstands a strong gale of force 11 and winter ice conditions, but also reduces steel usage by over 10 percent, providing valuable experience for future offshore solar farm construction," said Zhang Bo, deputy manager of the Kenli project at Guohua Energy Investment.

Once fully operational, the project is expected to generate about 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to meet 60 percent of Kenli District's total electricity demand.

The project is a significant step toward enhancing regional energy security and accelerating China's transition to a green, low-carbon economy.