China is racing on the wings of wind power

Over the last 5 years, China has yearly more than doubled its wind power capacity. Only in 2009, 13,800 new MW have been installed, so that its total capacity is now more than 25,800 MW, ranking second in the world behind the United States.

Thanks to such a high growth rate, China will soon – probably in 2011 – become the world’s top producer of wind energy. The report states that China is currently manufacturing 2 new wind turbines per hour.

According to the report, at the end of the next decade the country’s total wind farm capacity will amount to at least 150,000 MW and even 230,000 MW under a more favourable scenario.

Nevertheless, the CREIA warned that, even if the Chinese wind power market is undergoing full expansion (in 2005 the world’s 15 major producers included only one Chinese company, while today five companies are listed), this situation will be consolidated only by tackling a number of industrial and technological challenges. In the first place, the infrastructure must be modernized, so that the electric grid will be able to support the increasing wind penetration.

www.enelgreenpower.com