China builds more wind farms but is unable to use them. (Photo : Getty Images)
A new study was released that showed China built wind turbines that cannot be used due to high operational costs and unreliability of the wind.
Although profits were predicted to soar by 25 to 64 percent this year, government statistics show that 33.9 billion kilowatt-hours of wind power, or about 15 percent of all Chinese wind power, was wasted.
This was because the power grid can't handle the inherent unreliability of wind.
Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at The Center for the National Interest, said, "The challenge for China is getting its energy mix correct. China has poured considerable resources into the wind, however, with wind power being so expensive to produce compared to coal or even importing oil or natural gas and considering prices are down considerably for traditional carbon-based energy resources, the wind seem like a bad economic choice."
The country spent $103 billion to come up with alternative energy sources. One-third of the budget went to the construction of wind turbines.
Kanzianis added, "Combined with so much of it being wasted, China needs to develop an energy policy that takes into account environmental factors as well as cost. With many energy providers in the United States as well as in Germany turning away from the wind until costs are shown to be less of a burden, China may need to make the same choice."
Because of the inefficiency of the turbines, the government froze the operations of these wind power plants but is still headstrong that 15 percent of its energy should come from renewable sources.
Dr. Michael B. McElroy, a Harvard University professor, said, "China is building its wind capacity so rapidly that it's not connecting turbines to the grid. So, you have wind farms that are being developed but they're just sitting for years before they're connected."
