Amid the global wave of accelerated energy restructuring towards cleaner and lower-carbon energy sources, offshore solar power is rapidly emerging as a core force in the green power supply system due to its unique advantages, such as not occupying valuable land resources, stable annual power generation, and proximity to eastern power load centers. Authoritative forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicate that by 2030, global offshore solar power capacity is expected to achieve a leapfrog growth, reaching 500 GW, with China projected to contribute over 40% of that share.

Domestically, China's coastal provinces have begun developing offshore solar power. The total planned capacity of offshore solar power projects in provinces such as Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hebei, Shanghai, Tianjin, Liaoning, and Guangdong has already exceeded 100 gigawatts. The National Energy Administration has disclosed that 10.3 GW of offshore solar projects have been officially included in the third batch of large-scale wind and solar power bases, with some projects in Shandong and Jiangsu already connected to the grid. Offshore solar power is entering a crucial stage of implementation.

Looking at the current participants in offshore photovoltaic projects, central and local state-owned enterprises have become the dominant force in development due to their absolute advantages in funding, policy resources, and marine coordination capabilities. According to incomplete statistics from Solarbe.com, the scale of offshore photovoltaic projects launched nationwide has exceeded 50GW, and the presence of "national teams" is particularly prominent in this massive market .

China Energy Investment Corporation leads the way with 12.6GW of projects, becoming the "leader" in offshore photovoltaic development . State Power Investment Corporation follows closely behind with over 9GW of projects . In addition, other central state-owned enterprises such as China National Nuclear Corporation, China Three Gorges Corporation, China Huadian Corporation, China Huaneng Group, China General Nuclear Power Corporation, and China Power Construction Corporation also have GW-level project reserves . Besides central state-owned enterprises, private companies such as Chint New Energy, Jinko Power, LinYang Energy, and LONGi Green Energy are also involved in the construction of offshore photovoltaic projects.

In terms of regional distribution, the major state-owned enterprises have different focuses in their deployments. Taking Shanghai as an example, Shanghai Electric Power Co., Ltd. and Shenergy Co., Ltd., both subsidiaries of State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), have deployed 1.2GW and 1.15GW projects respectively in Dandi. In Shandong , SPIC's project scale reaches 7.8GW, and China Energy Investment Corporation also has 2.1GW of project reserves. Hebei has become an important base for China Energy Investment Corporation, with a project scale of 3.2GW. The project distribution in Fujian is more diversified, with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), China Energy Investment Corporation, and China Three Gorges Corporation all having important projects. Among them, CNNC and China Three Gorges Corporation each have a project scale of over 1GW, and China Energy Investment Corporation also has a project scale of 975MW. Jiangsu is also a development hotspot, with China Energy Investment Corporation having a project scale of 4.29GW, CNNC having a project scale of 4GW, and Huaneng Group having a project scale of 1.4GW.

This dominance of central and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is closely related to the characteristics of offshore solar PV development. Offshore solar PV projects are characterized by large investment scale, long construction period, high risk factor, and stringent requirements for policy and marine area coordination. Central and state-owned enterprises have natural advantages in these areas. Their strong financial strength can support huge upfront investments, their good communication and coordination capabilities with government departments can effectively promote the project approval process, and their rich experience in the operation and management of large-scale projects can reduce project risks. These factors together determine the dominant position of central and state-owned enterprises in the current offshore solar PV market.

Since 2025, coastal provinces and cities have accelerated the pace of competitive allocation of offshore photovoltaic projects, and development models have gradually become clear. Among them, the "wind and solar co-location" model has become the industry mainstream due to its advantage of efficiently utilizing marine resources.

As a forefront of China's economic development, Shanghai has taken the lead in offshore photovoltaic (PV) development. In August, Shanghai announced the results of its competitive bidding for 2.1GW of "co-located wind and solar" offshore PV projects, with six projects from companies including Shenergy, Shanghai Electric Power, Datang Group, and China Three Gorges Corporation successfully selected. Notably, these projects are all located within existing or under-construction offshore wind farm areas. This "co-located wind and solar" model achieves synergistic utilization of solar and wind power sites, significantly improving the overall efficiency of marine resource utilization and providing valuable experience for other regions.

In September, Hebei Province announced its plan for offshore photovoltaic projects in Qinhuangdao, featuring simultaneous wind and solar power. Five projects from China National Building Materials Group, China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group, Dongfang Electric Corporation, and Power Construction Corporation of China were successfully selected, with a total capacity of 2GW. The implementation of these projects will further promote the application of the simultaneous wind and solar power model in North China.