Chinese Bank Invests in PRC’s Wind Farm Project
Coming in at second place in the world in energy consumption - second only to the United States - the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the world’s most populated nation, is looking for ways to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and shift to renewable energy. This desire to increase renewable energy sources and cut greenhouse gases has led the PRC to promote private investments in renewables.
Such promotion has led to a recent investment by The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which will partly finance a $73 million wind farm in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. ADB will be investing $24 US (164 million CNY) in Datang Sino-Japan (Chifeng) Renewable Power Corporation, a joint venture between state-owned China Datang Corporation and Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power Company, Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation (CHINA) Holdings. Such a venture will be ADB’s first private sector wind farm investment in the PRC.
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Makoto Kakebayashi, General Manager, Overseas Business Department, Kyushu Electric Power Co., said, “This ADB-supported project – the first wind farm project in the PRC by a Japan-China joint venture – will help alleviate the PRC’s electricity shortage and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 140,000 tons per year.”
The PRC has long depended on coal consumption to produce power enough to meet its needs. Such a heavy dependence on coal and a growing economy have pushed the PRC up in the charts when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. But now Chinese officials are looking elsewhere. And they found wind. The Chinese government has identified wind power as a commercially viable clean energy alternative to fossil fuels.
With abundant wind resources, it is estimated that if fully developed, the industry could produce about 1,000 gigawatts (GW), more than 1.5 times the country’s current electricity generation capacity. And they’ve found a great location. Inner Mongolia is considered a prime location for a medium to large-scale commercial wind power industry. The proposed 12-square-kilometer wind farm in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, is expected to provide a steady source of electricity for the national power grid.
“The lack of finance on reasonable terms has held back the development of clean energy projects in the PRC. This project could become a model for future collaborations between state owned enterprises and foreign investors in renewable energy projects, and may encourage the PRC’s private sector to invest in wind power projects,’ said Hisaka Kimura, Investment Specialist with ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department.
In 2008, the PRC generated 12 GW from wind power. In an attempt to decrease dependence on coal and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the PRC government has a goal to boost that to 100 GW per year by 2020. The Chifeng project will produce about 133 gigawatt-hours (GWh) a year.
More: How is the US doing with wind power?
Photo Credit: Wayfinder_73 via flickr under Creative Commons License
