HK Electric to Develop Hong Kong’s First Offshore Wind Farm

Hong Kong may get to witness its first offshore wind energy farm coming up in 2027 as HK Electric has announced that it has plans to develop an offshore wind farm southwest of Lamma Island. HK Energy said that an application for variation of an environmental permit for the proposed project has been approved by the Environmental Protection Department of the Chinese Government to allow for the use of its wind power generation technology.

With this amended environmental permit, the wind farm project will be included in the next Five-year Development Plan of HK Electric and submitted for Government approval. A smooth implementation will see tendering commence in 2024 for scheduled commissioning in 2027.

According to HK Electric, the proposed wind farm, covering an area of about 600 hectares, is located about four kilometres away from Lamma Power Station and will have a capacity of around 150 MW. Depending on the capacity of the wind turbine model to be selected, about 13 to 19 wind turbines, each of 8 to 12 MW, will be built.

HK Electric had been collecting wind data in the selected site for many years and it’s an ideal location for wind farm development.

Wan Chi-tin, Managing Director, HK Electric, said, “To achieve carbon neutrality to combat climate change, HK Electric fully supports the Government’s zero-carbon electricity goal. Apart from increasing gas-fired generation, we have been exploring the development of renewable energy on a wider scale in Hong Kong.”

Wan Chi-tin also noted that the proposed wind farm will produce about 400 million units of zero-carbon electricity a year, which is around 4% of total electricity output of HK Electric, enough for the annual use by about 120,000 households.

HK Electric plans to include the wind farm project in the next Five-year Development Plan for Government approval, upon which ground investigation and tendering works will begin, followed by foundation and wind turbine installation in mid-2025, and commercial operation in 2027.

HK Electric has set up a Stakeholder Liaison Group with representatives from fisheries organisations, environmental groups and academic institutions and organisations concerned with energy issues and sustainable development. Regular meetings will be held to provide a consultation platform and to collect feedback from different stakeholders on the design, construction and operation of the offshore wind farm project.