China - China Power plans 1,000 MW wind project

Inner Mongolia wind project adds 300 MW to 1,000 MW over the next two-to-three years.

Beijing-China based China Holdings said today its subsidiary China Power plans to build 300-to-1,000 megawatts of wind power in Inner Mongolia.

The Ontniute Wind Energy Power Plant project is comprised of six-to-20 wind energy plants, each capable of generating 48.9 MW of capacity by 2010 to 2011.

China Power said the project is expected to generate electricity for an estimated 2,500 hours each year.

The projects will be constructed on a 200 square-kilometers in Inner Mongolia. China’s renewable energy laws state these wind energy plants are expected to operate under a 25-to-30-year production license (see China Wind Systems cuts deal with large wind supplier).

China's state grids guarantee they will purchase 100 percent of the electricity generated by wind plants at a price of ¥0.50-to-¥0.55 per kilowatt-hour, with annual increases for inflation.

The China Academy of Meteorological Sciences said China has 253 gigawatts of onshore and 750 GW of offshore wind-energy resources. China's wind-energy market has a projected growth rate on par with Europe and the U.S. over the next several years (see AES boosts wind capacity in China).

The estimated capacity for wind generation in Inner Mongolia is 101 GW. According to China's Academy of Meteorological Sciences, 1.4 GW of wind power capacity was installed in 2006, and more than 2 GW in 2007.

The company said it has a variety of clean energy power plants and projects in its current pipeline with a total power capacity of 550-to-1250 MW.