China Reaches 50 GW Of Connected Grid Wind Capacity; Expected To Top 140 GW By 2015
China advanced past 50 gigawatts (GW) of on-grid/connected wind power capacity in 2012, and this is expected to grow a further 40% by the end of 2013.
GTM Media Research and Azure International in their China Wind Market Quarterly for the fourth quarter of 2012 said the emerging market country is on target this year to add another 18 GW of installed grid connected wind capacity.
Some of the underlying strength seen in the Chinese wind market is due to recent government action to help solve some of the domestic wind industry concerns. This included revamping surcharge revenue and pre-appropriating funding this year.
“China’s wind industry retains its leadership position worldwide, whether looking at policy targets, overall installation numbers or innovation,” said co-author of the report Anders Hove.
“Fully understanding the world’s largest wind energy market requires an in-depth understanding of complex issues, and that’s why this report is timely. We need to understand the reasons for interconnection delays, develop an expectation for future curtailment, and look province by province at the cash flow issues created by slow disbursement of renewable energy surcharge funds,” he said.
Meanwhile, based on report projections, China will reach 140 GW of installed capacity by 2015, far exceeding expectations in 2011 of 100 GW.
In 2012 alone, China had nearly 35% of new wind power installations, virtually neck and neck with the United States to take top the spot, according to the Global Wind Energy Council’s 2012 report.
To see just how fast China’s wind energy industry has grown so far this century, we can look back and see that China only had 5.9 GW of installed capacity in 2007. Meanwhile, by 2020, China is expected to have nearly 250 GW of installed capacity. That would represent over 42 times the 2007 installed capacity.
However, rapid growth for China’s wind sector should become more levelled out in the years to come, as the industry should see more linear growth, the report said.
Will China be able to keep up its strength and reach the 250 GW installed capacity mark by the end of the decade? It would not be surprising if that target is reached before the start of 2020. Maybe the only question left to ask is whether it will it happen sooner or later.
Main Source: Greentech Media
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That’s wonderful news. But how long until they start shutting down those god-awful coal plants? They are poisoning their population with dirty air, not to mention the acceleration of climate change due to the emissions.
I believe all change takes time. And this step is a step in the right direction. China cannot expect to shut off all coal supplies as industry and the entire country will fall into chaos, with massive unrest and deaths from the ensuing chaos.
Afterall, it took Britain 100 years from industrialisation to finally clear to smoggy and coal filled air of Birmingham and London. China may take 40 years, especially with a government also keen to decrease pollution.
China has already closed hundreds of inefficient coal plants and they’ve put a cap on the amount of coal that can be burned each year starting in 2015.
They will have to build up their renewable electricity supply before they can shut too many more coal plants. They’ve massively ramped up their solar goals from 5 GW to 35 GW by 2015. Wind is being installed at a high rate and that rate is likely to accelerate.
I think the Chinese government is more than aware of their pollution and GHG emission problems. And I see them working harder to turn things around than, say, Republicans in our government.
I think a cap on coal comes into effect in 2015, but may be remembering that wrong. As far as shutting off existing ones… ?