First China-made wind turbine generator installed to capture high altitude wind energy

The first China-made wind turbine generator has been installed in a wind farm in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to capture high altitude wind energy, company officials said Tuesday.

The producer, Shanxi-based Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group Co., Ltd., said that the 5,000-kilowatt wind turbine was installed and put into use last week at a wind farm located more than 2,100 meters above sea level.

Cao Keshun, spokesman for the company, said that the generator, which weighs 805 tonnes, can be used both on land and sea for wind power generation. Its annual output is enough to supply electricity for 10,000 households per year.

The Chinese government strongly supports development of the wind power industry. The country’s wind power installed capacity is expected to top 75 million kilowatts with electricity output reaching 140 billion kilowatt-hours by the end of 2013, said Wang Jun, head of the New Energy Bureau of the National Energy Administration, last month.

Cao said that the company has decided to tap further into wind power equipment production, and recently built a plant in Ulan Qab City in Inner Mongolia, which was designed with an annual production capacity of 500 wind power generators.

Established in 1950, Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group Co., Ltd. was the first heavy machinery manufacturer designed and built by the People’s Republic of China. In August, it produced the world’s largest and strongest crane.