Wind turbines could generate enough electricity to power the
southern city of Guanzhou, a Greenpeace-commissioned report claimed
yesterday.
By 2020, wind in Guangdong
could be used to produce 35,000 gigawatt hours of
electricity?-- 17 percent of the province's total 2003 power
consumption?-- and enough to match the provincial capital's
yearly power demand, according to the report.
The report was carried out by UK-based wind power consultancy
Garrad Hassan and Partners Ltd in cooperation with Sun Yat-sen
University in Guangzhou.
With a long coastline and numerous islands, Guangdong could
match Germany in wind-power generation, said Gao Hui, China project
manager for Garrad Hassan.
The significant potential for developing wind energy in the
province also comes from factors such as its rapid economic growth
and favorable fundraising environment, said Li Junfeng,
secretary-general of the China Renewable Energy Industries
Association.
Accounting for about one-tenth of China's economic volume,
Guangdong posted 12.6 percent economic growth in the first half of
this year.
Government figures predict power consumption in the province
will grow by 15 percent this year, and it has been facing
electricity shortages, with supply not expected to meet demand
until 2007.
If Guangdong produces 20-gigawatts of wind-generated electricity
annually by 2020, carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by 29
million tons each year, the report said.
Wind turbines could also provide sound returns to investors,
said Yu Zhi, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, who could
expect a return on their investment in about 12 years, with an
investment return ratio of 8 to 10 percent over the 20 year
lifespan of the project.
This compares well with the 6 to 8 percent return ratio of
fossil fuel and hydroelectric power projects, he added.
The risks in wind power projects, Yu said, lie in the
availability of related technology, the quality of the turbines and
natural disasters such as typhoons.
The pace of the development of wind power is also subject to
government policies, including the pricing of wind-generated
electricity.
Guangdong ranks fourth among Chinese provinces in terms of
installed wind power capacity, said the report.
It had a total capacity of 86 megawatts, generated by three wind
farms comprising 179 turbines, at the end of last year.
Guangdong has drafted its own target of 3,000 megawatts by
2020.
(China Daily October 18, 2005)