{
  "id": 3630357,
  "title": "China launches world’s first 100kW bamboo-built floating solar farm off Shandong coast",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/china-launches-worlds-first-100kw-bamboo-built-floating-solar-farm",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-27T01:00:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3365347/china-launches-worlds-first-100kw-bamboo-built-floating-solar-farm-shandong-coast"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China has inaugurated the world's inaugural 100-kilowatt floating solar farm constructed using bamboo frames, marking a greener path for offshore energy generation. The platform, known as Jilin-2, is composed of composite bamboo tubes and pipes and has been installed at a test site near Yantai in Shandong province. This facility will provide electricity to a hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol production facility, as reported by Yantai CIMC Raffles Ocean Technology Group in late June. According to the company, compared to conventional steel or plastic structures, the bamboo-based design significantly minimizes the marine environmental impact. This latest iteration follows a 10-kilowatt prototype, Jilin-1, introduced in 2023. Developed by the CIMC Offshore Engineering Research Institute, CIMC Raffles' research division, China Forestry Group Corporation, and Beijing Forestry University, the team aims to construct a megawatt-scale bamboo-based project and advocate for the worldwide adoption of eco-friendly marine materials. Offshore solar farms are being constructed along China's extensive coastline to aid the nation's dual carbon objectives of peaking emissions by 2030 and attaining carbon neutrality by 2060. In December, a 1-gigawatt offshore solar farm, the world's largest, commenced operations near Dongying in Shandong, according to CHN Energy, a state-owned developer. Traditional offshore solar farms are erected using robust steel or plastic frames along with buoyant floats. In 2023, China unveiled a plan to substitute plastic with bamboo, which was incorporated into its most recent forest and grassland conservation plan released in July. Bamboo, a fast-growing giant woody grass native to Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, is utilized as a building material due to its lightweight, flexible, durable, and robust nature. The solar platform employs bamboo-wound pipes as a central support, along with \"sea bamboo pipes\" – fiber-reinforced wood-bamboo composite pipes created by Beijing Forestry University, offering buoyancy and load-bearing support. Qi Chusheng, a professor at the university, explained to China Green Times that the wood and bamboo materials were adapted to endure high humidity, corrosion, salt spray, and ultraviolet radiation. He stated that these renewable materials could be transformed into high-value, durable engineering materials, potentially reducing dependence on conventional, energy-intensive materials, as reported in the newspaper on August 12. The platform will be subjected to monitoring to assess the long-term durability, environmental adaptability, and fatigue resistance of the sea bamboo pipes, providing technical assistance for the implementation of wood-bamboo composites in offshore power plants, marine energy islands, and marine ranches. Marine ranches are designated areas of the ocean managed as underwater farms for cultivating marine life while restoring ecosystems. China is increasingly incorporating bamboo-based materials into innovative projects, such as anchoring shifting sand to prevent desertification in its arid northern regions.",
  "summary": "China has launched the world’s first 100-kilowatt (kW) floating solar farm built with bamboo frames, offering a more environmentally friendly approach to offshore energy. The floating solar platform, named Jilin-2, is made of composite bamboo tubes and pipes. It has been deployed at a demonstration base off the coast of Yantai in the eastern province of Shandong. It will supply power to an…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "China's launch of a bamboo-built floating solar farm marks a greener path for offshore energy generation, minimizing marine environmental impact and potentially reducing dependence on conventional materials.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "China launches world’s first 100kW bamboo-built floating solar farm off Shandong coast",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/china-launches-worlds-first-100kw-bamboo-built-floating-solar-farm-3632769",
        "published": "2026-08-27T01:00:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}