Wind Energy and China

China has been dogged by accusations of pumping carbon emissions and other pollutants out into the air and water supply by the billions of tons. Their enormous energy need is propped up by an unhealthy dependence on dirty coal plants, and local leaders know it. As part of the solution to keep China as a global power and reduce its coal plants, they will spend 580 billion yuan expanding its energy sector, which includes solar designs and alternative wind energy initiatives. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, wind power China will add more capacity this year than any other country, including the US. With 10 gigawatts of additional capacity planned for this year (compared to America’s 8.5 gigawatts), China’s new resources renewable energy projects will power more than 100,000 households.

Thanks to European government support, the wind power China equipment market has been heavily dominated by European companies, particularly Danish companies, which hold 52.37% of in-grid wind power projects in China. Germany is another big contender, since they hold many desirable manufacturing licenses and send equipment to 20% of the projects in China. To a lesser degree, Spain, the United States and the Netherlands occupy small market shares. Chinese policies and programs are focused on reducing the need for imported components to become more self-sufficient. Domestically, there are more than 30 companies building wind farms. Their top wind farms are run by Long Yuan Electric Power Group Corp (China Guodian Corporation), Huaneng New Energy Industrial Co. Ltd., China Datang Corporation, China Power Investment Corporation and China Huadian Corporation. Most of the wind purchase turbines are located in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Liaoning, Ningxia, Jilin and Hebei.

The biggest wind power China turbine manufacturer is Goldwind Co. in Xinjiang, which has captured 20% of the market share. Their main products are more than 400 units of 600 and 750 kilowatt turbines, but they also are testing a 1.2 megawatt turbine, which may revolutionize the sources wind energy China produces. Another large company is Yunda Co in Zhejiang, which has more than 45 units of 200, 250 and 750 kilowatt wind turbines in operation. Shenxin Co of the Shenyang Industry University is developing 75 kilowatt and 200 kilowatt turbines but is also working on a 1 megawatt offering. Dalian Heavy Machinery is developing and manufacturing 1.5 megawatt wind turbines. Wanadian Co has six 600 kilowatt wind turbines in operation and the Shanghai Bluesky Co has two 300 kilowatt wind turbines operating.

Initially, leaders promised wind power China offerings of 30 gigawatts by 2020 but the target has jumped to an astounding 100 gigawatts of installed wind power capacity, thanks to the development of larger, more efficient wind turbines that can churn out 1.2 megawatts of power, rather than 300 to 750 kilowatts. The new focus on alternative wind energy is all part of a plan to break the dependency on coal, says Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council. He adds that China’s capacity may even reach 200 gigawatts, since the Chinese have a history of being conservative in their estimates. In fact, the 2009 GWEC report reveals that China has doubled its wind power capacity each year for the past four years in a row.