China to double wind power capacity by 2010

China will spend about $15bn (£9bn) as part of a programme to more than double its wind power capacity from 12,000MW to 30,000MW by the end of next year.

The commitment is to form part of a major new renewable energy push from the government that will see total investment in alternative energy potentially exceed two trillion yuan ($290bn) by 2020.

News agency Bloomberg this week quoted Shi Lishan, deputy director of the renewable energy department of the National Energy Administration, as saying that wind power is now "vital" to China's future energy mix, as it is one of the cheapest forms of alternative energy in comparison to conventional sources.

He noted that the on-grid price for wind power is now about $0.70 to $0.80 per kilowatt hour, while coal is $0.29 to $0.58.

With improvements in turbine manufacture and design continuing, the figures raise the prospect of wind energy moving closer to cost parity with China's main source of energy over the next few years.

According to Shi, China was the world's fourth largest producer of wind power in 2008, after the US, Germany and Spain. By 2020, the government hopes to be able to generate more than 100GW of energy through wind power, a scenario that could see it secure the top spot as the world's largest generator of wind energy.

About 80 wind farms are already operating in China, with plans for three more announced recently.

China Resources Power Holdings said it has received government approval for two wind farm projects in Gansu and Guangdong provinces totaling 221MW in capacity. Meanwhile, Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group plan to build a wind farm in Shandong province, with construction slated to begin this year.