Jiangsu Pushes for More Wind Power

East China's Jiangsu Province had installed wind power capacity of 1.87 gigawatts (GW) by the end of September, according to statistics released by local electric grid monopoly Jiangsu Electric Power Corp. on Wednesday.

Provincial wind power output in the first three quarters of the year exceeded 2.68 terawatt hours (TWh), more than the whole of 2011, said Jiangsu Electric Power. Wind turbines work an average of 2,100 hours in Jiangsu, higher than the average of 1,900 hours in northern China.

"A power supply shortage means Jiangsu has a strong economic incentive to exploit wind reserves and minimise waste," wind power analyst Hu Yinan told Interfax, noting that the province is a net importer of electricity even though it is a major power producer.

Jiangsu consumed 428.6 TWh of power in 2011, of which 393.5 TWh was generated locally, according to data from the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. The coastal province is the country's second-largest regional economy.

Jiangsu Electric Power has deployed more than RMB 700 million ($110.76 million) connecting wind farms to the provincial power grid in recent years, resulting in lower rates of waste compared with major wind power bases in the north, the company said.

The province plans to more than triple installed wind power capacity to six GW by 2015 and 10 GW by 2020, according to Jiangsu Electric Power, which would make it one of the eight largest wind power production bases in the country by the end of the decade.

Jiangsu is a pioneer in China's offshore wind power projects, noted Hu, although its ambitious development plans have been delayed by protests from local fishermen and maritime authorities.