One reason for this is the fluctuating nature of wind power. Some industry officials believe that wind power may pose a serious threat to power grid stability, saying that wind power should account for less than 5 to 10 percent of any given power grid's total power. However, on April 8, 2010, wind power accounted for 18.7 percent of the Inner Mongolia Grid's total power without any negative repercussions.

A great deal of wind power is wasted during the winter season, when thermal power generators are used to supply heat for most of Inner Mongolia's residents. The Inner Mongolia Grid prefers to use thermal power generators because they can generate electric power while simultaneously creating steam, which can be used to heat homes and businesses in the region.

Tao Ming, director of the Siziwang Banner wind power office, says that "during the winter, the grid gives priority to generating power with thermal power generators. Inner Mongolia has relatively low demands for electric power because of its underdeveloped industries. Thermal power plants can work at full steam, while wind turbines have to remain idle."

The Inner Mongolia Electricity Council says wind farms connected to the Inner Mongolia Grid lost several billion yuan in 2010 because of idle turbines. According to a February report by the China Electricity Council (CEC), about one-third of China's wind turbines are idle, a sign that China's wind power industry has some serious problems to solve.

"The grid is like a giant jar, and wind power is like a river," says Lu Jianjun, director of the wind power office of Inner Mongolia's Chayou Central Banner. "The Inner Mongolia grid 'jar' is full, but the wind power 'water' keeps flowing in. We have to cut off the 'river'."

Power shortages

However, the economic powerhouses of central and eastern China are in need of surplus power. These regions have faced power shortages this year, with more projected to follow in the coming months.

Wang Zhixuan, secretary general of the CEC, says that China's central and eastern regions need at least 30 GW in additional power to operate smoothly. At the same time, 26 GW of installed power capacity in China's northern regions have been idle, most of it generated by wind turbines.

Wang Bingjun, director of the Inner Mongolia Energy Bureau, says, "The Inner Mongolia Grid has reached its upper limit in accepting wind power for local consumption. The only solution is to send out wind power over long distances and integrate it into the much larger State Grid."

This, however, is easier said than done. Longyuan's Qi says, "This is hard to do because we do not yet have a concrete method of transmitting wind power."

According to the CEC's February report, China has yet to create a reliable, stable way of transmitting wind power outside of local grids, and also lacks support facilities for these grids.