China heading to 150 gigawatts of installed wind capacity at the end of 2015

In 2012, China surpassed 50 gigawatts of grid-connected wind capacity and is on its way to add a record amount of new wind capacity, increasing the total installed capacity by roughly 18 gigawatts, representing a 40 percent growth rate. China also currently supplies roughly one-fourth of all the wind energy injected into the grid worldwide.

Yet the sector faces some immense challenges, from ongoing problems with grid connection, ever-growing amounts of curtailed wind generation, new restrictions from State Grid on who can connect, and, perhaps most importantly, uncertainty about whether policymakers will do as they have done in the past to ensure the sector continues its rapid growth.

According to the GTM Research-Azure International report, China’s wind industry is on track for a cumulative 80 gigawatts by the end of 2012 and 150 gigawatts of installed capacity by the end of 2015.

According to China Wind Energy Association, about 15 terawatt-hours of wind power generation was curtailed, representing 16.9 percent of China’s wind generation — implying an economic loss of RMB 5 billion, based on current tariffs.

China’s top three wind developers are Longyuan, Huaneng, and Datang. The top ten wind developers took approximately 70 percent of China’s Q4 2012 development market.

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