How China is Using Wind Energy Programs to Generate Jobs

Wind Turbine
Source: Petr Kratochvil / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Chinese wind farms are in the news once again as Gamesa, a world renowned manufacturer and constructor of wind farms, has secured another contract with China to install 50 2.0 MW wind turbines in Ningxia, China. This is in addition to the 25 2.0 MW wind turbines that was agreed upon for installation last year.

China presently has a total of 80 wind farms in operation. As of 2010, energy production from wind farms was 41,800 MW and it has been growing at an accelerated rate. In China’s 12th Five Year Plan from 2011 to 2015, wind farms are included in their environmental goals and they are aiming to produce more than 150 billion kWh by the end of 2015.

China, Japan, Nuclear Power and Wind Energy

Nuclear Power Plant

Petr Kratochvil / www.publicdomainpictures.net

In September 2011, China began operating another wind farm in Wuzhong, a city in Northwest China. China made use of their vast available land by constructing a wind farm spread across 215 square miles in the area. Coupled with solar power installations, they were able to produce 400 megawatts with 300 megawatts coming from the wind turbines.

China has many good sites for onshore wind farms due to the large land mass that the country has. The newly constructed one in Wuzhong in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a semidesert, is just one of the many suitable areas for installing wind turbines.