Experts Say China’s Wind Energy Could Grow 1667% by 2020
At present, China produces just over 6 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy, making it 5th in the world for total wind energy. (Germany leads with 22.2 GW.) However, with China’s massive push for 21st Century renewable technologies, we shouldn’t be surprised if China achieves 100 GW by 2020 say energy experts.
China is already outpacing its own wind energy goals.
Officially, China’s latest renewable energy plan sets a goal of 10 GW by 2010. That’s double the previous target. However, according to industry analysts at China Strategies LLC, China’s current pace of wind development will bring 10 GW by the end of this year, two years ahead of schedule. According to China Strategies, 20 GW is possible in China by 2010. What’s more, they foresee a total of 100 GW by 2020, an increase in wind energy of 1667%. And, they add, this may be a conservative estimate.
These figures should make critics of China’s energy policies think twice. On the one hand, China still relies heavily on polluting coal to power its factories and make the inexpensive goods that many people have come to expect. On the other hand, China is making significant strides to adopt renewable energy technologies.
The China Economic Review quotes Richard Spencer of the World Bank, who worked on one $13 million wind project as saying, “China is working very hard to reduce its dependence on coal, and it looks to nuclear, hydro and wind, particularly, to replace coal. Wind is very important.”
How will China make the switch to clean energy? One answer was the 2005 Renewable Energy Law, which required utilities to buy renewable energy. Such legislation is an important part of the answer. Similar legislation in California has encouraged major investment in wind and solar. But an underlying question remains: can China continue its recent rate of growth in the renewable energy field?
If so, the Middle Kingdom is poised to increase its percentage of wind energy from less than one percent to about 20% by 2020 says Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, in the China Economic Review. For those keeping track of the economic competition between the US and China, that would set China dramatically ahead of the US goal of 5-6% by 2020.
Further reading:
China’s Wind Power Industry: Blowing Past Expectations
Chinese Cleaning up with Wind Power
China Poised to Become Clean-Energy Leader?
U.N. report: Clean energy booming globally
Photo Credit
George Lu via Flickr
Amazing results. However, the population size in china will probably cause to dramatic increase in energy demand with each increase in life quality. Thats mean that the energy demands will be much higher than calculated here, and the predicted increase in green energy consumption of china’s energy market will be much lower than the 20%, eventually.
Hi,
Hopefully the low tension network in China can cope all this wind energy. As said in this news flash, one says that the network in Flanders/Belgium has problems with renewable energy.
Eddy
Green Energy, you may be right. I could be wrong, but I think that Mr. Sawyer’s estimate took into account growing energy consumption.
Eddy, Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the report.
should be one of the first steps we take to respond to the threat of global warming.
For an authoritative look at what wind power can do, see the 20% by 2030 Technical Report from the U.S. Department of Energy at http://www.20percentwind.org.
Regards,
Thomas O. Gray
American Wind Energy Association
http://www.powerofwind.org
http://www.awea.org
P.S. The “news flash” actually says specifically that combined heat and power plants, not wind, are blamed for the problem in Flanders.
I like my personal wind energy much better.
Awesome. Dollar for dollar you cannot beat wind energy. Much more cost effective than solar.
JT
http://www.ULtimate-Anonymity.com
Sounds to me like it is time to invest in Chinese wind companies. Any one know of any besides China Wind Systems (CWSI.OB). An article about them is below:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/64941-blowing-hot-air-at-china-wind-systems
An increase of nearly 27% per year?
Unless they have massive farms currently in production/planning stages such an increase is just unfeasible.
For sure the percentage of wind power will increase in China, but that scale increase would take more time. Energy storage for peak-load balancing would also need to be put in place, and pumped storage would be problematic in many of the places China could possibly develop its wind infrastructure.
It is so exciting to seeing humanity taking a stance for mother earth. Alternative energy is a must, and yes, I agree, we need to invest…thanks for the link Barry.
Hmmmm. There’s only one problem. SAND.
Desertification and all those sandstorms bodes extremely well for that 27% CAGR those wind ‘experts’ wet dreaming.