Wind power gets set for huge thrust

China's wind power installed capacity is expected to exceed 30,000 megawatts (mW) by the end of 2010, up from 12,000 mW last year, an official with the National Energy Administration (NEA) said yesterday.

Road lamps powered by wind in Ningbo, Zhejiang  province. [Zhang Heping]

In order to achieve this target, the country needs to invest an additional 100 billion yuan at least in the sector, said Shi Lishan, deputy director of the new energy department under the NEA.

China now has the fourth largest wind power capacity in the world. The sector has seen over 100 percent year-on-year growth in the past few years.

"Among all the clean energy sources, wind power is developing the fastest these days. The 30,000 mW target is achievable given the fast pace of growth," said Shi.

By the year 2020, China would have wind power capacity of 100,000 mW, accounting for around 10 percent of the country's total power generation capacity, he said.

China plans to build six wind power bases each with a capacity of 10,000 mW. Shi said these six bases would be completed by 2020.

Currently, wind power accounts for around 2 percent of China's total power generation. Industry insiders said, by 2020 wind power will likely surpass nuclear power as China's third-largest source of electricity, after thermal and hydropower.