Wind power in China: Difference between revisions
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Future wind farms |
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The nearest wind farm to China's capital is Guanting, about 90 minutes drive from the city centre near the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Although it is small — 47 wind turbines, it is set to grow to 100 turbines by next year.<ref> [http://www.greenpeace.org/china/en/campaigns/countdown-to-copenhagen/beijing-wind-farm Greenpeace China visits Guanting]</ref> |
The nearest wind farm to China's capital is Guanting, about 90 minutes drive from the city centre near the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Although it is small — 47 wind turbines, it is set to grow to 100 turbines by next year.<ref> [http://www.greenpeace.org/china/en/campaigns/countdown-to-copenhagen/beijing-wind-farm Greenpeace China visits Guanting]</ref> |
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==Future wind farms== |
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The [[Gansu Wind Farm]] proposed for western [[Gansu province]] is one of six national wind power megaprojects approved by the [[Chinese government]]. It is expected to grow to 20,000 MW by 2020, at an estimated cost of 120 billion Chinese yuan ($17.5 billion). In 2008, construction began on a 750 kV AC power line to carry electricity from the wind farm.<ref>Peter Fairley. [http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/23460/page2/ China's Potent Wind Potential] ''[[Technology Review]]'', September 14, 2009.</ref> |
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
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Revision as of 20:59, 14 September 2009
At the end of 2008, wind power in China accounted for 12.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generating capacity and China has identified wind power as a key growth component of the country's economy.[1] China is the fourth largest producer of wind power, after the United States, Germany, and Spain.[2]
By the end of 2008, at least 15 Chinese companies were commercially producing wind turbines and several dozen more were producing components.[3] Turbine sizes of 1.5 MW and 2 MW became common. Leading wind power companies were Goldwind, Dongfang, and Sinovel.[4] China also increased production of small-scale wind turbines to about 80,000 turbines (80 MW) in 2008. Through all these developments, the Chinese wind industry appeared unaffected by the global financial crisis, according to industry observers.[4]
The initial future target set by the Chinese government was 10 GW by 2010,[5] but estimates suggest that by 2010 the total installed capacity for wind power generation in China will reach 20 GW.[2] China aims to have 100 gigawatts of wind power capacity by 2020.[6]
Details
The primary domestic wind turbine manufacturer in China is Goldwind (金风科技股份有限公司) from Xinjiang province. Established in 1998, Goldwind has been aggressively developing new technology and expanding its market share, accounting for 35% in 2006. As a 55% state-owned company Goldwind has been a primary beneficiary of government policies that protected the niche market and preferentially supported utilisation of domestically manufactured wind turbines.[7]
Of the total of 80 wind farms presently operating in China, the China Longyuan Electric Power Group Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Guodian Group Corp., operates 32 wind farms in China; these 32 wind farms have 952 windmills that cumulatively have installed capacity of 780 MW, or approximately 30% of total wind generating capacity in China.[8]
Chinese developers unveiled the world’s first permanent Maglev wind turbine at the Wind Power Asia Exhibition 2006 held June 28 in Beijing. Chinese company Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology invested CN¥400 million in building the base for the maglev wind turbine generators, in which construction began in November 2007. The company expects a yearly revenue of CN¥1.6 billion from the generators.
According to reports from the 2007 China (Shanghai) International Wind Energy Exhibition held on April 10, 2007 at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, by 2010, 5% of Shanghai’s energy needs will be generated from wind power. Shanghai’s first domestically produced wind farm will locate in Lingang New Town; the 7 MW wind farm will begin generating power in early 2008 and the power generated from this wind farm will be connected to the Huadong Eastern China Power Grid. Over the past several years new wind farms have been built in Shanghai, including the Nanhui Wind Farm, the Qinjian Bay Wind Farm and the Chongming Dongtan (Eastern Beaches) Wind Farm. Together these three wind farms have 18 windmills with a total of 24.4 MW. Because land based wind farms require a large amount of land, Shanghai is pursuing ocean-based wind farms; the first ocean based wind farm which Shanghai is constructing is the "Juwuba" East China Sea Bridge 100 MW wind farm. When completed the Juwaba East China Sea Bridge wind farm will produce 260 million kW·h/annum; based on average power consumption of 1,200 kW·h/annum/household in Shanghai, the sea based wind farm would be able to supply the power needs of 170,000 households in Shanghai.[9]
In 2006 the Shanghai Power Company purchased 64.485 million kW·h of green energy (primarily from wind farms), yet the amount of renewable energy which was subscribed by customers from Shanghai Power Company was only 23% of that total. In 2006 there were just 6,482 households in Shanghai that subscribed to renewable energy in part because the cost of wind power is 0.53 Yuan/kW·h higher than power produced from coal plants; in 2007 total output of wind farms in Shanghai will total 100 million kW·h, which is sufficient to power 120,000 households. Though there were 22 entities that purchased renewable energy in Shanghai, though with the exception of 1/3rd of that total being state owned enterprises, the remainder was foreign invested enterprises. Shanghai’s city government did not purchase any renewable energy. Of the top ten power customers in Shanghai, only Bao Steel purchased renewable energy; in 2006 Bao Steel entered into an agreement to purchase 1.2 million kW·h over three years.[10]
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), aiming to diversify from its core oil and gas business, will be seeking international companies interested in cooperating with them to develop offshore wind farms, said CNNOOC president Fu Chengyu at a conference in Hainan Province on April 22, 2007.[11]
The nearest wind farm to China's capital is Guanting, about 90 minutes drive from the city centre near the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Although it is small — 47 wind turbines, it is set to grow to 100 turbines by next year.[12]
Future wind farms
The Gansu Wind Farm proposed for western Gansu province is one of six national wind power megaprojects approved by the Chinese government. It is expected to grow to 20,000 MW by 2020, at an estimated cost of 120 billion Chinese yuan ($17.5 billion). In 2008, construction began on a 750 kV AC power line to carry electricity from the wind farm.[13]
Controversy
The increasing penetration of wind power has exacerbated the problems of delivering reliable power to users. “Because wind energy is unstable, it is a pollutant and affects the safety of the power grid,” said Hu Xueha, the deputy chief engineer of China’s Power Grid Research Institute. Furthermore, the transmission capacity of the grid hasn't kept up with the growth of China's wind farms. According to recent data from the China Power Union, only 72% (8.94 GW) of China’s total wind power capacity was connected to the grid.[14]
See also
References
- ^ Wind power becomes Europe's fastest growing energy source
- ^ a b China's Wind Power Industry: Blowing Past Expectations
- ^ Caprotti Federico (2009) China's Cleantech Landscape: The Renewable Energy Technology Paradox Sustainable Development Law & Policy Spring 2009: 6–10
- ^ a b REN21 (2009). Renewables Global Status Report: 2009 Update p. 16.
- ^ China blasts through wind energy target
- ^ China's wind-power boom to outpace nuclear by 2020
- ^ http://cn.goldwind.cn/en/index.asp
- ^ Wind Energy Businesses in China
- ^ China (Shanghai) International Wind Energy Exhibition & Symposium
- ^ Operation of quoting and bidding system in Shanghai power generation market
- ^ Datang wins first offshore wind farm
- ^ Greenpeace China visits Guanting
- ^ Peter Fairley. China's Potent Wind Potential Technology Review, September 14, 2009.
- ^ Xina Xie (July 30, 2009). "Great Leap Forward for China's Wind Energy". Energy Tribune. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
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External links
- Chinese Wind Energy Association (Chinese)
- China Wind Systems Announces Completion of Large Scale Manufacturing Facility for Wind Components
- China wind power report 2007 (Greenpeace China)
- China wind power capacity growing
- China Wind Systems Begins Producing Forged Products at New Facility
- China Outlines Clean Power Blueprint
