Transforming offshore wind farms into synergistic aggregators to enhance renewable integration and grid flexibility—an Eastern China example

Offshore wind energy plays a vital role in addressing global energy challenges. Its true value emerges when integrated into holistic systems combining offshore wind farms with coastal power plants, energy storage, and marine ranches. Using East China as a case study, we develop and optimize such clusters to reduce construction and operation costs. Our results show that these clusters significantly enhance energy storage utilization, increase offshore wind absorption such that approximately 20% of wind farms achieve an annual generation absorption rate exceeding 95%, and improve frequency regulation of large power units, achieving an optimized storage configuration of 0.67 GWh. By employing fish cages as flexible loads, the regional absorption rate rises above 98%, generating economic benefits of 6.82 billion RMB annually. Marine ranches also provide 35 kilotons of high-quality protein, advancing food security. These findings highlight the transformative potential of integrating offshore wind into dynamic systems, redefining the interplay between renewable generation, storage, and ancillary services for the East China case. By unlocking the combined benefits of energy and marine resource synergies, this work lays the groundwork for sustainable energy innovation and sustainable development. Its applicability can extend to other regions, provided that local policies and biophysical conditions are met.