FUZHOU, July 19 -- The world's first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine off the coast of east China's Fujian Province was successfully connected to the grid and began generating electricity on Wednesday.

The wind turbine at the Fujian offshore wind farm, which is operated by the China Three Gorges Corporation, has the largest single-unit generating capacity of all turbines in operation worldwide, the company said.

The turbine's blades are each 123 meters long and can sweep an area of approximately 50,000 square meters -- the size of seven standard soccer fields.

It is estimated that the wind turbine will be able to generate more than 66 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, meeting the annual electricity consumption needs of 36,000 three-member households. That is equivalent to saving about 22,000 tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 54,000 tonnes.

Lei Mingshan, chairman of the China Three Gorges Corporation, said the 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine is a breakthrough in the core technology of the offshore wind power industrial chain, and it will boost the sustainable development of the country's offshore wind power industry.