China’s wind power capacity has reached 140GW, up 8.5% from the end of last year. However, the average time windmills spent generating power dropped to 917 hours in the first half of the year, compared to 1,002 hours last year, according to the latest data from the National Energy Administration (NEA). Even with double the installed wind capacity, China is producing less electricity from turbines than the US. While curtailment is one part of the problem, the NEA has also flagged faulty equipment as an issue. China’s wind industry has grown fast but “the quality of equipment needs to be improved,” said Li Peng, an official from the new energy department of the NEA. The nation will “improve the monitoring and evaluation system” for the sector, he said. China’s cumulative grid-connected solar capacity crossed 65GW, with as much as 22GW added in the first half of this year. Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects 6-8GW to be added to the grid in the second half of the year. Will the government reduce the 2020 solar target of 150GW? The issue is discussed in the note: China added more than 20GW PV in H1: what next?
Renew Economy 3rd Aug 2016 read more »