Report Says Wind Energy Could Meet China’s Energy Needs for Two Decades

With steady growth in wind power capacity each of the last five years, China is expected to pass the United States as the fastest-growing market for wind installations this year. But this may only hint at the potential for wind energy in China, according to a new study published in the journal Science. After modeling China’s wind availability and profitability, researchers from Harvard University and Tsinghua University in Beijing calculated that wind resources, particularly in the country’s northern and western regions, could meet all of China’s electricity demands until at least 2030. Specifically, researchers say wind turbines could produce 6.96 trillion kilowatt-hours of energy at a price of 0.516 Chinese yuan, or about 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is in keeping with the current government-set rates for wind energy. To accommodate this surge in wind energy production, however, the country would have to make significant improvements to its transmission system, including smarter and stronger power grids, researchers warn.