The Wind Roars in China
Mar 15th, 2008 by Julian
The wind energy industry in China is booming. Whereas global installed wind power capacity has averaged 28% per year over the past few years, China experienced a 100% increase in such capacity (1.3 GW) in 2006, and another 156% (3.4 GW) increase in 2007 over 2006, for a total installed capacity of 6.0 GW at the end of 2007. This accounts for 6.4% of the world’s capacity. China has set an ambitious target of installing 30 GW of wind capacity by 2020. Given the prolific growth rate experienced in 2007, and the progressive Renewable Energy Law of 2006 that provide favorable incentives for wind power development, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) believes that such target can be easily exceeded, reaching up to 120 GW with the right mix of aggressive policies. Read GWEC’s full 2007 report on the China wind industry here.
The Roaring40s, a renewable energy company based in Tasmania, Australia, is shaping up to be a key player in wind farm development in China. This twelve-minute video features R40s’ forays into the Chinese wind development market. They currently have seven wind project sites across China, one of them which is already operational in Shuangliao in Jilin province. The capacity of most of these projects are just under 50 MW, presumably to avoid the wind tendering process that applies to wind projects that are 50 MW or above. Even its landmark project in Xiangyang, Jilin province, which will become one of the largest wind farms in the world with an aggregate capacity of 1,000 MW, is being constructed in 50 MW (I’m guessing it will be just under 50 MW) stages. Based on its website, R40s uses turbines from Gamesa, Suzlon and Nordex for its China wind farm projects.
