WIND: Galloping Chinese Development

“While India was traditionally the strongest Asian market in wind development, it was overtaken by China in 2008,’’ Angelika Pullen, communications director of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) told the Hindustan Times from Brussels.

As one rolls into the Suzlon Energy factory in China, an Indian native could be seen serving sambar-rice (Indian curry & steam rice) on the first floor for the six Indian employees. On the ground floor, the Chinese staff lunches on noodles.

Long wind turbine blades strewn horizontally across the complex of the world’s third-largest wind turbine maker. Suzlon makes turbines to withstand temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius in India. In China, where Suzlon was among the first global entrants, the turbines can withstand minus 40 degrees.

The gaps between the wind revolution in India and China are widening. In 2009, China built more wind turbines than any nation and became the second-biggest market in installed capacity compared to India at the fifth rank.

The boom is a big success --- especially for Chinese companies.

“The explosion of the wind market in China has not happened anywhere in the world since 2004,’’ Suzlon Energy’s China CEO Paulo Fernando Soares said. “China will account for half the global market this year.’’ “There’s clearly a favourable treatment for local Chinese companies.’’

From 2004 to 2009, China’s installed wind power capacity grew twentyfold, sparking concerns about overcapacity.

“The business of overseas companies is going down but Chinese companies have orders booked for the next three to four years,’’ said an office of Air Tech Asia in China. A supplier of wind power technology components. “The Chinese companies are booming.’’ Chinese manufacturers that began by licensing know-how are now looking at new markets in Africa and Asia.

Last year, China began constructing the nation’s biggest wind farm in its northwest. Officials call it the Three Gorges in the Air after the world’s biggest hydroelectric dam on the Yangtze.

In 2009, India added 1,271 MW of installed wind power capacity while China added 13,000 MW.

“China is putting strong efforts into developing the country’s tremendous wind resources,’’ said Li Junfeng, secretary-general of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, in a statement this week. “It can be expected that even the unofficial target of 150 GW will be met well ahead of 2020.”