[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China rolled out the world's largest single-unit direct-drive floating offshore wind turbine by capacity and rotor diameter on Thursday, marking a new breakthrough in the country's offshore wind power equipment manufacturing, said operator China Huaneng Group Co Ltd.

The 17-megawatt (MW) direct-drive floating offshore wind turbine, jointly developed by China Huaneng Group Co Ltd and Dongfang Electric Corporation, was unveiled in Fuqing, Fujian province, it said.

The turbine features a rotor diameter of 262 meters, with a swept area of approximately 53,000 square meters. It is designed to withstand waves exceeding 24 meters and super typhoons up to level 17.

The development provides new technical support for China's expansion of offshore wind power into deep and distant waters, said the company.

Key components are all domestically produced and the unit is suitable for wind resource development in waters deeper than 50 meters and is tailor-made for deep and distant sea environments.

Each unit is capable of generating about 68 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity annually, sufficient to meet the yearly power needs of approximately 40,000 households.