Wind Power in China - This could be huge

[drbubb]

CHINA WIND

 

China's energy needs are rising dramatically - and they already have a serious air pollution problem.

 

 

The Three Gorges Dam, the biggest and most expensive engineering project in history, is underway and is already generating power. But this will not solve China's problems. It will need much more energy in the future, and the more renewable energy, the better.

 

Western companies are responding to these needs, and there will soon be companies in the public sector. So this could be an area of great future potential.

 

This thread is to track developments in the WIND sector, within CHINA.

 

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(Here's some interesting evidence of this trend- will China be exporting wind turbines in a few years?):

 

GH training for more than 100 engineers in China - 12th Apr 2006

GH has recently provided training to Chinese wind turbine design engineers as part of a three day Workshop held in Beijing.

 

The Workshop, entitled “Wind Turbine Modelling and Design Calculations”, was hosted by the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA) and organised for GH by the China General Certification Company (CGC).

 

 

The event proved to be a great success attracting 110 trainees eager to learn about the use of Bladed for wind turbine design. The GH China team was involved in the arrangements for the Workshop and a substantial team of GH personnel from the UK flew out to Beijing to provide the training.

 

The Workshop was opened by Professor He Dexin, President of CWEA, Mr Li Baoshan a senior official from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and Mr John Buckley of UK Trade and Investment. The opening session of the Workshop also included the signing of a Strategic Cooperation Agreement between CGC and GH.

 

David Quarton, leading the GH team from the UK writes: “The Workshop was an excellent example of technology transfer to more than a hundred engineers who will be at the core of the wind turbine industry in China. As I watched these engineers learning about wind turbine modelling and design calculations with Bladed, I certainly felt very proud of what has been achieved with the software and very aware that it is truly an industry standard!"

 

@: http://www.garradhassan.com/corporate/news.php?id=29

[drbubb]

== here's a China wind project (Honiton) which was once being developed inside a mining co. ==

 

Honiton Energy >>

Honiton Energy is China's first and fastest-growing foreign alternative energy provider. It presents the investor with a prime opportunity to capitalise on China's growth and to profit from its energy needs and economic liberalisation. 100% foreign-owned but locally managed, Honiton is a true Sino-Anglo hybrid fusing western-style management with local nimbleness and intelligence.

 

Corp Website : http://honitonenergy.com/

 

Honiton Operations

Honiton currently owns three extensive properties in China's Inner Mongolia Region. With the potential to produce up to several thousand megawatts of power each, they could power up to a few million homes. This production of clean energy could possibly reduce several million tonnes of carbon dioxide from China's polluted atmosphere.

 

Honiton Energy aims for IPO on LSE by June 2006

 

Honiton Energy Ltd. aims for an IPO on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) by the summer of 2006. As per FSA regulations, the Company is not at liberty to discuss the progress of such. However for more interim information regarding the IPO prospect, the public may contact the Company's lawyers Travis Smith in London. Going public is an integral part of maintaining the Company's huge growth expected over the next five to ten years.

 

For more information please contact:

Paul Eveleigh, CEO // paul@honitonenergy.com

 

 

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(from GH website):

Wind Guangdong - 17th Oct 2005

At the end of October Greenpeace China launched its strategy document which was written by GH to illustrate the potential of wind energy in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

[webmaster]

The Renewable Energy Law in China

- Submitted by Bruno on Fri, 2006-08-18 05:30.

Coal rules but diversification has begun

 

China is known for relying on coal. Coal is abundant and cheap, so new coal plants were considered the best way to keep up with the rapidly increasing energy demand (an increase of 65 GW in 2005 alone). The result is that today, coal constitutes 80% of the country’s total fuel mix. But to ensure energy security and to cope with environmental issues, China has recognized that it has to diversify this mix. The Law on Renewable Energy went into effect in early 2006 and urges accelerated development of solar energy and wind power. It is one of the largest state-sponsored commitments to renewable energy. The intent is that by 2020, 10% of China’s generating capacity will come from renewable sources. This figure does not include large hydroelectric projects such as the Three Gorges Dam.

 

@: http://www.leonardo-energy.org/drupal/seblog

[drbubb]

Chasing the power of wind in Asia

By Angela Macdonald-Smith Bloomberg News ... Published: September 20, 2006

 

 

SYDNEY China and India are accelerating development of wind power, which is luring companies like the turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems as restrictions hamper wind farm construction in traditional markets like Australia.

 

"The biggest markets in the next decade will probably be India and China in particular," said Achim Hoehne, a manager based in Sydney at the PB Power unit of the engineering services company Parsons Brinckerhoff. "Australia had a good market until about a year ago. Since then, companies are looking for other opportunities."

 

A venture partly owned by CLP Holdings of Hong Kong scrapped more than $400 million of projects in Australia this year - where government renewable- energy quotas have almost been met - in favor of China and India. Vestas Wind, the world's biggest wind turbine maker, and Suzlon Energy of India, the largest in Asia, are expanding in China.

 

Global oil prices have stayed above $50 a barrel for 15 months, prompting a worldwide scramble to develop alternative energy sources. China, which gets two-thirds of its power from coal, is also trying to cut pollution.

 

China added almost 500 megawatts of wind energy capacity in 2005 - a jump of 66 percent to 1,260 megawatts, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, which is based in Brussels. That compares with growth of 11 percent in Germany, the world's largest wind market, where capacity reached 18,428 megawatts, the council said. China may add 2,000 megawatts of capacity this year.

 

That is making the market in China more attractive than countries like Australia, where investments in wind projects have slowed as a government target for renewable energy use is reached.

 

China has a target of 5,000 megawatts of wind capacity by 2010 and a goal of 30,000 megawatts by 2020, said Andrew Richards, president of the Australian Wind Energy Association. China National Offshore Corp., or Cnooc, one of the largest oil companies in China, said last month that it was studying building offshore wind farms.

 

"Everyone is positioning themselves to be there and be ready when things really open up," said Dan Kofoed Hansen, managing director of the Australian unit of Suzlon. "China is still in its infancy as a market as such."

 

A plan to triple the use of wind power in Japan, which imports almost all of its oil, is being undermined because of concern that power surges from wind farms could be disruptive. Unlike Germany, Japan lacks the national grid needed to iron out supply fluctuations from such projects.

 

The Japanese government drafted a plan in May 2005 to increase wind power generation to 3,000 megawatts by March 2011. As of March, Japan had a little more than 1,000 megawatts.

 

In China, the renewable power market still favors local companies over foreign ones, Hansen said. This is among the deficiencies that probably need to be removed before the market fulfills the projections of its potential, he said.

 

Vestas, based in Randers, Denmark, opened a factory in northeast China in June, while Repower Systems, a German rival, signed a contract earlier this month to take control of a Chinese wind turbine manufacturing venture. Vestas said in August that it would close a plant in the Australian state of Tasmania that assembled parts of turbines.

 

"It was a business decision," said Thorbjorn Rasmussen, president of Vestas's Asia-Pacific unit. "From the view of the market perspective, there is no long-term commitment to this market from the political side" in Australia, he said.

 

SYDNEY China and India are accelerating development of wind power, which is luring companies like the turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems as restrictions hamper wind farm construction in traditional markets like Australia.

 

"The biggest markets in the next decade will probably be India and China in particular," said Achim Hoehne, a manager based in Sydney at the PB Power unit of the engineering services company Parsons Brinckerhoff. "Australia had a good market until about a year ago. Since then, companies are looking for other opportunities."

 

A venture partly owned by CLP Holdings of Hong Kong scrapped more than $400 million of projects in Australia this year - where government renewable- energy quotas have almost been met - in favor of China and India. Vestas Wind, the world's biggest wind turbine maker, and Suzlon Energy of India, the largest in Asia, are expanding in China.

 

Global oil prices have stayed above $50 a barrel for 15 months, prompting a worldwide scramble to develop alternative energy sources. China, which gets two-thirds of its power from coal, is also trying to cut pollution.

 

China added almost 500 megawatts of wind energy capacity in 2005 - a jump of 66 percent to 1,260 megawatts, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, which is based in Brussels. That compares with growth of 11 percent in Germany, the world's largest wind market, where capacity reached 18,428 megawatts, the council said. China may add 2,000 megawatts of capacity this year.

 

That is making the market in China more attractive than countries like Australia, where investments in wind projects have slowed as a government target for renewable energy use is reached.

 

China has a target of 5,000 megawatts of wind capacity by 2010 and a goal of 30,000 megawatts by 2020, said Andrew Richards, president of the Australian Wind Energy Association. China National Offshore Corp., or Cnooc, one of the largest oil companies in China, said last month that it was studying building offshore wind farms.

 

"Everyone is positioning themselves to be there and be ready when things really open up," said Dan Kofoed Hansen, managing director of the Australian unit of Suzlon. "China is still in its infancy as a market as such."

 

A plan to triple the use of wind power in Japan, which imports almost all of its oil, is being undermined because of concern that power surges from wind farms could be disruptive. Unlike Germany, Japan lacks the national grid needed to iron out supply fluctuations from such projects.

 

The Japanese government drafted a plan in May 2005 to increase wind power generation to 3,000 megawatts by March 2011. As of March, Japan had a little more than 1,000 megawatts.

 

In China, the renewable power market still favors local companies over foreign ones, Hansen said. This is among the deficiencies that probably need to be removed before the market fulfills the projections of its potential, he said.

 

Vestas, based in Randers, Denmark, opened a factory in northeast China in June, while Repower Systems, a German rival, signed a contract earlier this month to take control of a Chinese wind turbine manufacturing venture. Vestas said in August that it would close a plant in the Australian state of Tasmania that assembled parts of turbines.

 

"It was a business decision," said Thorbjorn Rasmussen, president of Vestas's Asia-Pacific unit. "From the view of the market perspective, there is no long-term commitment to this market from the political side" in Australia, he said.

 

 

@ : http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/19/bloomberg/bxwind.php

[drbubb]

WIND ECONOMICS - some basics ...

 

"An average wind speed through the year of 10mph is usually required for a wind machine to produce electricity economically" - old rule of thumb.

 

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CAPITAL COST: The Price Banana (1998, Dkr & US$)

 

 

Source: http://www.windpower.org/en/tour/econ/

As you can see prices vary for each generator size. The reasons are e.g. different tower heights, and different rotor diameters. One extra metre of tower will cost you roughly 1 500 USD. A special low wind machine with a relatively large rotor diameter will be more expensive than a high wind machine with a small rotor diameter... Price competition is currently particularly tough, and the product range particularly large around 1000 kW. This is where you are likely to find a machine which is optimised for any particular wind climate. The working horse today is typically a 1000 kilowatt machine with a tower height of some 60 to 80 metres and a rotor diameter of around 54 metres.

 

OTHER COSTS

During construction, usually around 6-8 months, a 75 mW wind plant might require 200 or so workers, including laborers, electricians and heavy equipment operators.

It is easy to ignore some other costs, like property taxes. LAND Costs: If developers decide to go ahead, they typically sign a 30-year lease agreement that pays the landowner a portion of annual gross revenue, generally 2-3%, on a quarterly basis, typically earning $1,500-2,000 annually for 30 years per each large-scale wind turbine sited on their land.

 

Depending on the site, a 1,000-acre farm can easily accommodate 10 turbines, while each turbine takes around one-half acre to two acres out of crop production (mostly for access roads). Outside that small footprint, farm operations continue as usual. With earnings on many major farm commodities running $100/acre or under, the attraction of harvesting the wind is obvious. A utility-scale wind farm is typically composed of dozens of 600- to 750-kW turbines.

 

In open, flat terrain, a utility-scale wind plant will require about 50 acres per megawatt of installed capacity. However, only 5% (2.5 acres) or less of this area is actually occupied by turbines, access roads, and other equipment – 95% remains free for other compatible uses such as farming or ranching.

@: http://www.harvestcleanenergy.org/pages/wind/windCQ.html

 

LOCATION MATTERS

The best wind turbines start working at 4mph with most cutting in between 8 and 12 mph Obviously the area in which you wish to use the power must have a high enough average wind speed. Generally wind speed decreases inland and is consequently higher at the coast. The speed is also reduced by trees and buildings and is therefore less in a city than in open countryside. Wind measurement devices can be hired or bought and are known as anemometers. They usually consist of small propellers or cups that produce a small measurable electric current. An average wind speed through the year of 10mph is usually required for a wind machine to produce electricity economically.

 

- -

HARD TO COMPETE... Wind vs. Other

 

From article on Wind Economics

"The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory study found that a 50-MW wind farm delivering power at just under 5 cents per kWh would, if using typical natural gas project financing terms, generate electricity for 3.69 cents per kWh."

 

WHAT IS HELPING: rising energy costs, improving economics of wind.

Some factors:

 

SPEED:

The cost of wind energy varies widely depending upon the wind speed at a given project site. The energy that can be tapped from the wind is proportional to the cube of the wind speed, so a slight increase in wind speed results in a large increase in electricity generation. Consider two sites, one with an average wind speed of 14 miles per hour (mph) and the other with average winds of 16 mph. All other things being equal, a wind turbine at the second site will generate nearly 50% more electricity than it would at the first location.

 

SIZE :

Improvements in turbine design bring down costs. The taller the turbine tower and the larger the area swept by the blades, the more powerful and productive the turbine. The swept area of a turbine rotor (a circle) is a function of the square of the blade length (the circle’s radius). Therefore, a fivefold increase in rotor diameter (from 10 meters on a 25-kW turbine like those built in the 1980s to 50 meters on a 750-kW turbine common today) yields a 55-fold increase in yearly electricity output, partly because the swept area is 25 times larger and partly because the tower height has increased substantially, and wind speeds increase with distance from the ground.

 

SCALE:

A large wind farm is more economical than a small one. Assuming the same average wind speed of 18 mph and identical wind turbine sizes, a 3–MW wind project delivers electricity at a cost of $0.059 per kWh and a 51-MW project delivers electricity at $0.036 per kWh—a drop in costs of $0.023, or nearly 40%. Any project has transaction costs that can be spread over more kilowatt-hours with a larger project. Similarly, a larger project has lower O&M (operations and maintenance) costs per kilowatt-hour because of the efficiencies of managing a larger wind farm.

 

RATES:

The cost of financing affects that of wind energy. Wind energy is capital-intensive, so the cost of financing constitutes a large variable in a wind energy project's economics. For a variety of reasons, financing for wind projects remains more expensive than for mainstream forms of electricity generation. Project ownership affects cost of financing and the economics of a wind power project. Independent ownership—that is, financing of projects by private power producers on a stand-alone basis, which is how the vast majority of U.S. wind projects are financed—is more expensive than utility-owned financing

 

...MORE: http://www.awea.org/pubs/factsheets/Econom...d-March2002.pdf

[Sonic]

CHINA WIND

 

(Here's some interesting evidence of this trend- will China be exporting wind turbines in a few years?):

 

This UK company is importing significant quantities of Chinese OEM renewable products into Europe, including wind turbines.

 

Navitron previously offered a wide range Chinese wind turbines up to 500Kw+, but for some reason they are now only advertising much smaller units

 

Unit prices are unbeleivably low, the customer base appears to be largly the DIY and hobby market, in which they seem to have dedicated following.

 

If you are interested in small scale imbedded renewables, off-grid etc. then the forum is well worth a look, some great examples of what is posible on a very low budget

[sammartin]

Wind energy converts kinetic energy that is present in the wind into more functional forms of energy such as mechanical energy or electricity. Wind energy is a pollution-free, infinitely sustainable form of energy. It doesn't use fuel; it doesn't produce greenhouse gasses, and it doesn't produce toxic or radioactive waste.

 

You will find wind power the best energy alternative for several reasons:

 

Abundant supply - the world is has plenty of wind resource.

No emissions - with no harmful emissions, wind holds a key to a healthy future.

Technological advances - we can pull more power from the wind.

Increasing demand - the world's energy demands are increasing exponentially. Oil supplies will decline.

Instability in oil-production.

 

There are many wind energy are doing this great job in China at presant, like WELWIND ENERGY INTL.

WELWIND is emerging wind energy market in China and such company are welcomed by government as a green energy.

Welwind Energy International Corp. has received a second commitment letter from Acterra Group to fund Phase I of the company's Yangxi Windfarm project.

Like the Zhanjiang Project, Phase I of Yangxi will also consist of 65 turbines at 1.2-1.5 million per turbine. This commitment will be up to, but not limited to, $75 million

 

It is just one case in wind power in China, many investors are focus on the land.