China - Hydropower giant to invest in wind power

China's hydropower giant, China Three Gorges Project Corporation, plans to develop wind power in Yancheng, East China's Jiangsu Province. The project has been authorized by the National Development and Reform Commission. The corporation set up Yangtze New Energy Development Company to implement the 200,000-kW project. Preparation for the project is expected to be completed within the year. China boasts rich wind energy, much more than the hydropower, said Li Yong'an, general manager of the cooperation. According to the company's statistics, China has a wind power reserve of 253 million kW onshore and 750 million kW offshore, as compared with a hydropower reserve of only 400 million kW. The country's installed capacity of windmill generators, however, was estimated at 12 million kW at the end of 2005, leaving a great potential to yet be tapped, Li said. The corporation thus mapped out a strategic plan to develop clean energy including wind power. By 2020, the corporation is expected to have 85 million kW of installed capacity including 4 million kW of wind power installed capacity, according to the corporation's strategy.