GE has announced plans to assemble its wind turbines in Shenyang, China, in order to supply one of that country's largest wind projects to date. When completed in 2007, the Jiangsu Rudong Concession II Wind Project in Jiangsu Province will add 150 MW of wind power capacity to China's electricity grid.
Developed and owned by Jiangsu Longyuan Wind Power Company of Nantong, the project will comprise 100 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines, with 67 of the units to be installed in 2006 and the remaining 33 in 2007.
"The Chinese government's leadership in encouraging new renewable energy development will bring both cleaner power alternatives and new economic development to the people of China," said Robert Gleitz, general manager of GE Energy's wind segment. "Once built, Jiangsu Rudong Concession II will be a world-class project; it also underscores GE's commitment to our Chinese customers' cleaner technology needs as it marks our first delivery of locally assembled wind turbines with more than 70 percent local content."
The Jiangsu Rudong Concession II Wind Project is an extension of a project launched in 2002 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and will be located on the Subei Plain near Nantong, in east-central China about 50 kilometers from the East China Sea.
The project supports the Chinese government's nationwide renewable energy law passed in February of this year, which mandates targets for increased power generation from alternative sources. Ambitious goals set by China's Center for Renewable Energy Development call for 6 GW (gigawatts) of installed wind capacity by 2010 and 30 GW by 2020.
Currently, wind power accounts for only 0.17 percent of the country's total installed energy capacity, according to a recent report in the People's Daily of Beijing. To date, more than 40 wind farms have been developed in China, with a total capacity of 764 MW.
According to BTM Consult, a Danish wind energy consultancy, China holds the largest wind resource of any country in the world, and increasingly the country is turning to wind power and other alternative sources to help meet its soaring energy needs. Over the past several years, the Chinese government has offered tax incentives for developers, imposed standardized electricity rates to encourage new renewable energy development and has imposed equipment requirements to bolster local manufacturers.
In addition to supplying the turbines for the Rudong project, GE Energy will provide technical service for installation, commissioning and training. GE Energy's wind technology already is well established in China. To date, GE has announced five wind projects at Huitengxile, Shangyi Manjing and Shanghai Chongming-Nanhui.
