Greenpeace - China should set more ambitious wind power targets

China should set more ambitious targets for the development of wind power, said Greenpeace in a research report.

The government has set a wind capacity target of 30 gigawatts by 2020, but it could have a total of 122 gigawatts by that year, equivalent to the capacity of five Three Gorges Dams, Greenpeace said in a report drawn up with the China Renewable Energy Industries Association (CRIEA) and the Global Wind Energy Council.

China's wind power sector is thriving even without sufficient policy support, and total capacity is expected to rise to 5 gigawatts by the end of this year, exceeding the 2010 target, according to Li Junfeng, the secretary general of CREIA.

By giving full policy support to the sector, wind power could account for around 10 pct of total installed power capacity by 2020, said the report.

Figures in the industry are already urging the government to replace the current bidding system -- in which competing developers submit tenders that are selected on the basis of the price of electricity sold to the grid -- with a feed-in tariff system that will help the industry become more competitive.

The Greenpeace report also said financial and taxation policies need to be improved, and suggests that low-interest loans should be provided for research and development and to purchase turbines. It also calls for a unified authority to be established for the industry .