Science and other news Sept 9th 2010
Posted on 9 September 2010 by e-news
Off Shore Wind Power Takes Off In China
The first major offshore wind farm outside of Europe is located in the East China Sea, near Shanghai. The 102-megawatt Donghai Bridge Wind Farm began transmitting power to the national grid in July and signals a new direction for Chinese renewable energy projects and the initiation of a national policy focusing not just on wind power, but increasingly on the offshore variety.
All of Donghai Bridge’s 34 turbines, 3 MW capacity each, were built by Sinovel Wind Group, China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, though designed in cooperation with American Superconductor.
It will produce enough renewable energy to power 200,000 households
The farm is expected to eventually generate an annual 267 million kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough to power 200,000 Shanghai households. China’s government claims that annually, the wind farm will cut use of 100,000 tons of coal, reducing carbon emissions by 246,058 tons.
Currently, the wind farm’s capacity is equivalent to only 1 percent of the city’s total power production of about 18,200 MW, which is generated mostly from traditional fuel-based sources, according to China Daily, the state-run English-language daily newspaper in Beijing.
Construction of the Donghai project’s second phase, on the west side of the bridge, has been approved by authorities. It, too, is projected to produce about 100 MW. An additional four farms surrounding Shanghai are currently under negotiation, and the city hopes to complete 13 wind farms by 2020, with the majority of the expected 1,000 MW capacity supplied by offshore wind farms.
For more see the New York Times
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