China is planning to invest more than ¥700 billion (US$100 billion) in new wind energy projects by 2020, according to a development plan released last month by the National Energy Administration.
The plan aims for 21 GW of installed capacity, including more than 5 GW of offshore wind.
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“Based on the expected power generation volume of wind power facilities by 2020, the country anticipates savings of 150 million tons of standard coal and a reduction in emissions of 380 million tons of carbon dioxide, 1.3 million tons of sulfur dioxide, and 1.1 million tons of nitrogen oxide annually,” Renewable Energy World reports. “The country’s wind power sector is expected to create about 300,000 new jobs during the period, raising the number of people employed in the sector to 800,000 by 2020.”
REWorld points to power operation and management systems, costs, and market development policies as continuing barriers to wind energy development in China. The country is responding by restructuring distribution to better match supply with demand, boosting regional wind development and utilization in the east and the south, and driving “independent innovations in technologies and in the establishment of utility-grade systems.”
