Coal Province Boosts Wind Power Development

The operational wind power projects are in Pinglu and Youyu wind farms with a total capacity of 75,000 kW.

The project, one of Shanxi's key projects in the 11th Five-Year Program (2006-2010), was funded by Shanxi International Electricity Group Limited Company with a total investment of 750 million yuan ($109.63 million).

Eighteen of the 60 wind power generators have been debugged and are ready to begin working at the two farms, and all units are expected to be operational within the year. Together, the generators will have an annual clean electricity output of 134 million kWh.

Coal-fired generators consume 40,800 tonnes of standard coal annually to produce the same amount of electricity and emit 493 tons of dust, 87,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide , 390 tonnes of SO₂ and 1,640 tons of nitrogen oxides.

Shanxi's richest wind resources can be found at Wutai Mountain, Luliang Mountain and the northwestern regions of the province, boasting an average annual wind speed of more than 3 meters per second, according to weather evaluations and field surveys.

Wind power will have a bright future in Shanxi, as the province's dense power grids facilitate wind accessibility and the government exempts half of taxations for renewable energy developers.

Shanxi has mapped out the planning of wind power generation. Nineteen wind farms will be built by 2020, with the total installed capacity of 2.3 million kW and an annual electricity output of 4.6 billion kW, which will reduce coal consumption by more than 3 million tonnes annually.

TheBioenergySite News Desk

Sign up for our
regular news updates

Latest Bioenergy Industry News

•   Schafer Leads US Delegation to Brazil Conference
•   USDA Invites Applications for Biorefinery Loans
•   Biofuels Not to Blame for Food Price Rises
•   CAP Health Check Will Help Farmers
•   Energy Diversification and Climate Change
•   Immediate Reform of UN Body Urged
•   Project Breaks Solar Efficiency Record
•   Ethanol Agreement Between China and Brazil
•   Ethanol from Sugar for Angola
•   Biodiesel Plant Opens in Danville