Background

China is one of the few emerging countries to have promoted the deployment of small wind power (SWP) technology, going back as far as the early 1980s.  Unlike many other RE technologies, SWP is one that has been developed and owned by Chinese companies.
SWP does not require the ideal wind conditions and the huge tracts of land of a large-scale wind farm. Developing  SWP brings benefits in new technology deployment, reduced GHG emissions, job creation and an improved rural economy.
However, China’s SWP industry remains tiny in relative terms, accounting for less than 0.00129% of China GDP output in 2007, and there is no comprehensive overview of the industry to use as a basis for further expansion.

Purpose

To conduct a detailed study and evaluation on the potential of the SWP industry in China for both on-grid and off-grid applications, and make specific policy and strategy recommendations to the Chinese government to promote its growth.

Main Activities

• Undertake survey of the small wind power industry in China and around the world, including situation analysis of SWP in distributed generation
• Conduct an extensive technical and economic analysis of both on- and off-grid applications for SWP, covering technology, deployment and policies.
• Draft specific policy and strategy recommendations as well as an overall SWP industry roadmap document and present it to the China National Energy Administration (NEA)
• Produce final survey report covering aspects such as global market potential, identification of  barriers
• Organise a workshop to disseminate the results of this study and to discuss the effective policy and regulation

Expected Impact

• Solid base for SWP strategy and policy development, particularly an incentive policy that will encourage the use of SWP in distributed generation
• Improved living conditions in rural and underdeveloped areas, where the use of small scale wind turbines will give both energy and income to farms.
• Expansion of the SWP industry, with new applications, lowered production costs, and increased product quality, and a metering regulation consistent with SWP needs
• A standards and certification system will be developed, consistent with the policies recommended in this project.
• Reduced GHG emissions