China, Argentina Turn to Wind Power

June 4, 2009

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With growing demand around the globe to boost incentives for renewable energy projects, several countries including China and Argentina are looking to beef up their renewable portfolios with wind power.

China, the world’s second-biggest energy consumer, will invest about $14.6 billion to more than double its wind power capacity by 2010 from last year, rising from 12,000 megawatts (MW) to 30,000 MW, reports Bloomberg News.

Shi Lishan, deputy director of renewable energy at the National Energy Administration, said in the article that wind power is “vital” because it is the cheapest form of renewable energy. About 80 percent of China’s power is produced from coal.

China Longyuan Electric Power Group, which accounts for about a quarter of the nation’s wind-power capacity, plans to boost capacity to 6,000 megawatts by next year and to 20,000 megawatts by 2020, according to the Bloomberg article. The renewable-energy unit of China Guodian Corp. was capable of generating 2,630 megawatts of electricity using wind turbines last year.

China is also working on a stimulus plan to develop renewable energy.

Spanish energy company Grupo Guascor announced it will build a $2.4-billion wind power park in southern Argentina, which will produce between 600 and 900 megawatts, reports Barcelona Reporter.

The Planning Ministry official cited in the article said the wind park should produce 300 megawatts by the end of 2010 and the rest will be operational by the end of 2011. The plant will be twice the size of the largest plant operating in Europe, according to the state news agency Telam.

It’s estimated that Argentina has about 29 MW of wind power capacity, equivalent to about 1 percent of the grid.

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