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Renewable Energy News

TUESDAY 04 AUGUST, 2009 |

China's wind power capacity doubles

by Energy Matters

China doubles wind power capacity
In just the first 6 months of this year, China's installed wind power capacity increased to 11.81 gigawatts, more than double the amount of the previous year.

China's wind power industry has skyrocketed in recent years, largely due to the Chinese government's supportive policies and financial incentives. The country's installed wind power capacity reached 12 gigawatts by the end of 2008, ranking the fourth globally behind the United States, France and Spain. China has set a goal of attaining 100 gigawatts of wind power capacity by 2020.

By the end of 2008, more than a dozen companies were commercially producing wind turbines in China and several dozen more manufacturing components. The leading wind power companies in the nation are Goldwind, Dongfang, and Sinovel

China could become the global leader in wind power soon, with many major projects under way. Work is about to begin on a massive 10 gigawatt wind farm in the far northwestern city of Jiuquan, Gansu Province.

The wind farm will have an installed capacity of 5 gigawatts by the end of 2010, 12 gigawatts by the end of 2015 and 20 gigawatts by the end of 2020, but the installed capacity will eventually reach 40 gigawatts according to officials. The total costs of the project are predicted to exceed 17.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Currently, six wind farms are in operation in the city with a total installed capacity of 660,000 kW. The massive project will see not only clean energy generated for the local population, but will represent and jobs boom in the form of manufacturing of wind turbines and employment in the operation and maintenance of the wind farm once constructed.

Source: Xinhua, Wikipedia