Far off the coast of southern China, an extraordinary energy experiment is underway. In the waters of Guangdong province, hundreds of massive wind turbines now rise from the South China Sea, each as tall as a 30-storey building.

They form part of China’s bold push to build offshore wind farms that can not only survive the fury of tropical typhoons but also harness their power. It is a vision that might seem far removed from Wellington’s blustery hills — yet the lessons being learned there could help shape the future of wind energy here too.

Guangdong has already become one of the world’s busiest offshore wind hubs, home to about 15% of all ocean-based turbines. Over the next five years, the local government plans to more than double that number. But this expansion comes with a major challenge: China’s coastline faces some of the planet’s most powerful storms every year.

Typhoons, similar to hurricanes, sweep across the northwest Pacific between May and November, bringing destructive winds of at least 119km/h and often far higher. One recent storm, Typhoon Ragasa, slammed into southern China in September, reaching speeds of 241km/h — the world’s strongest storm this year.

Yet many of China’s newest turbines stood firm. According to Zhu Ronghua, director of the Yangjiang Offshore Wind Energy Laboratory,

“It is extremely important that turbines installed in those regions can not only resist typhoons, but also harness the strong gusts in the lead-up to their arrival.”

The effort to build typhoon-proof turbines is part of China’s larger dual-carbon strategy — peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality before 2060. Offshore wind is now seen as a cornerstone of that plan. As Qiao Liming, former chief strategy officer for Asia at the Global Wind Energy Council, said,

“The Chinese government has made a strategic decision to make offshore wind a cornerstone of its dual-carbon goals.”

To meet these ambitions, China has developed some of the world’s toughest wind turbines. National standards call for “typhoon-type” models that can survive average winds of 198 km/h for ten minutes. The international guideline from the IEC asks turbines to endure 205 km/h for ten minutes and gusts up to 290 km/h for three seconds.

On average, a single Chinese offshore wind farm will be struck by around 100 typhoons over its 25-year lifespan. The cost of failure is enormous — one storm in 2006 destroyed 27 turbines and caused about US$70 million in losses. Modern designs now use advanced materials like carbon fibre and ultra-high-performance concrete to lower that risk.

One striking example is the OceanX turbine from Mingyang Smart Energy Group. The OceanX sits on a floating foundation and supports two turbines instead of one. The pair spin in opposite directions, increasing efficiency by over 4%.

Its foundation is anchored to the seabed by ropes at a single point, allowing it to swivel naturally to face the wind and so reduce the load during a typhoon. As chief designer Wang Chao put it,

“As long as the turbines face the typhoon, the forces they take will be the smallest and they will be the safest.”

When Typhoon Yagi, China’s strongest in a decade, struck last year, OceanX faced winds of up to 133 km/h and survived without damage. Closer to the storm’s centre, Goldwind turbines off Guangdong’s Xuwen coast endured 161 km/h winds for six hours and still generated 2.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity — enough to power more than 2,100 people for an entire year.

Goldwind credits stronger materials and an advanced monitoring system that tracks turbine performance in real time. Before Typhoon Ragasa arrived, the company used a self-developed early-warning system to predict its path and prepare each turbine. Thanks to that, all 260 of its offshore turbines survived as wind speeds jumped from 68 to 144 km/h and the wind direction shifted by 150 degrees within minutes.

Not every story ends well. During Typhoon Yagi, newly installed turbines in Hainan province snapped before they could be connected to the grid. Researchers say they lacked the ability to adjust automatically to shifting winds. The incident shows how critical smart systems and early warnings have become.

Engineers are also taking inspiration from nature. In the United States, researchers built flexible “downwind” blades — mounted behind the motor — that bend like palm trees during storms. These designs could make turbines cheaper and safer. China’s OceanX uses downwind blades, though its version does not fold.

Climate change adds urgency to this work. A 2023 study found that the number of typhoons that rapidly intensify near China’s coast has tripled since 1980. Offshore turbines must now be ready for storms that grow stronger much faster than before.

For Wellingtonians, this may seem distant, yet it hits close to home. Our city is famous for fierce winds and a growing commitment to clean energy. As New Zealand explores offshore wind in the Cook Strait and beyond, the technology being perfected in Guangdong offers useful lessons.

Professor Xiaoli Guo Larsén from the Technical University of Denmark said,

“Tropical cyclones are a challenge for developing wind power because they can be very destructive. But they also provide an opportunity for humans to use new technologies to develop the ultimate turbines that can withstand the toughest conditions.”

From the typhoon belts of the South China Sea to the restless winds of Wellington Harbour, the message is clear: with smart design, resilience and foresight, even the most powerful storms can be turned into a source of clean, enduring energy.