Slowing growth does not deter wind power's long-term promise
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China's wind power industry is still promising in the long run, although the growth rate will inevitably slow down compared to that of previous years, according to a report from the international consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
The installed capacity of China's wind power increased from 402 megawatts (mW) in 2001 to 12,150 mW in 2008, with a growth rate higher than the world average since 2004.
Frost & Sullivan estimated the cumulative installed capacity of China wind power to exceed 100 million kilowatts (kW) in 2020, which indicates a compound growth rate between 20 percent and 30 percent from 2009 to 2020 -- far below the previous rate of nearly 100 percent.
Frost & Sullivan said it sees great investment opportunities in wind farm construction, wind power equipment manufacturing and related industries.
The forthcoming revitalization plan of the Chinese government for the new energy industry will increase the installed capacity of wind power substantially.
By 2020, the total capacity is expected to exceed 100 million kW, and the following six wind power bases with capacities of more than 10 million kW capacities are the key national projects.
The Jiuquan, Gansu, 10-million-class wind power base has a planned total installed capacity of 35,650 mW, and has completed the tendering of the wind turbines for the first stage of construction.
The other projects are the Hami, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, planned 20 million kW base, Inner Mongolia planned 50 million kW base, Hebei planned 10 million kW base in coastal and northern areas and the Jiangsu planned 10 million kW base.
Current investors in China's wind power farms are mainly central or local State-owned electric power and energy enterprises, with few private or foreign enterprises.
For the installed capacity added in 2008, the five major power generation and energy groups accounted for approximately 76 percent. This indicated the increasing concentration of wind power operators.
