What if wind farms could be used for more than just generating renewable energy? What if people could use them to, for example, raise fish, thousands of fish, tons and tons of fish to feed populations while avoiding the emission of thousands of tons of CO2?
Although it’s an unconventional approach, that didn’t stop Mingyang Smart Energy, a Chinese company specializing in wind turbines, from considering it to make offshore plants profitable. Now, the company has moved from theory to action with a system that combines wind and fish farming.
The result is surprising. And it holds promise.
What happened? Mingyang has developed a groundbreaking system that combines renewable energy generation and fish farming. The company has created a system called MyAC-JS05, which it describes as “the world’s first hybrid jacket+net cage” system for fish farming. In other words, the system consists of a large cage positioned at the base of windmills to house fish.
What does the system look like? When it presented its idea back in April 2023, the company estimated that the Mingyang Qingzhou 4 offshore wind farm in the South China Sea would be large enough to hold a 5,000 cubic meter water body and 150,000 fish. According to the company, the facilities guarantee a safe environment for 150,000 fish in deep water. With an estimated annual production of 75 tons of fish, the project has the potential to generate an additional ¥5 million (about $703,000) in revenue, Mingyang said.
Does Mingyang provide any data? Yes, the company claims that its design is capable of withstanding the ocean’s forces. According to Mingyang, the MyAC-JS05 system has been specifically designed to endure strong typhoons with wind speeds of up to 61.2 m/s. What’s more, the company emphasizes that the device is more than just a fish cage: “It includes an intelligent aquaculture system with remote functions, such as automated feeding, monitoring, detection, and collection.”
However, the most significant advantage for the Chinese company lies in its ability to maximize marine resources by enhancing offshore wind power, hydrogen generation, and now, the cultivation of “high-quality” fish.
Is it all just theory? Not at all. In fact, that’s one of the most intriguing aspects of the project. When Mingyang presented its design in 2023, it clearly stated its objective to conduct a test by the end of the year at the Mingyang Qingzhou 4 offshore wind farm. Now, the company has gone a step further.
In early July, the company completed production of its first system to be installed as a pilot test on one of its MySE 12-242 offshore turbines, a model that Mingyang recently introduced. Meanwhile, in August, the Chinese newspaper Global Times reported that the company successfully completed the development of its equipment to combine wind turbines with fish farming.
Image | Mingyang Smart Energy
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