The prototype will be installed in a wind farm in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu province, for testing late this year.
The turbine is jointly designed and developed with AMSC. Dongfang hopes to sell the 5.5MW offshore wind turbines to the overseas market.
An Hui, general manager of the wind power division of Dongfang Turbine, said Dongfang hope to raise its share of the Chinese market share to 15% by 2015.
Industry officials estimate that in the next 10 years, China will demand around 1,000 5MW and larger turbines, at an average of 100 turbines per year. It means CNY 2 billion ($317 million) market, calculated on the basis of CNY20 million per turbine.
So far, Sinovel and Guodian United Power have produced 6MW turbines, while Goldwind and Chongqing Haizhuang are developing 6MW turbines.
As of 2011, Dongfang is the third largest wind turbine maker in terms of capacity in China with 11.1% of the market and 6898MW installed. However, it was pushed out of the top five manufacturers for 2011 by Guodian United Power and Mingyang.
An said that since 2011, Dongfang Electric has changed its strategy by paying higher attention to turbine quality and development than simply pursuing turbine output and ranking.
Dongfang set to launch AMSC-developed turbine
CHINA: Dongfang Electric is set to launch a 5.5MW offshore wind turbine, partly designed with AMSC, later this month.
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