China's second largest wind farm has started construction, according to state media, as part of the government's efforts to improve the clean power industry and cut reliance on fossil fuels that contribute to pollution, as reported by the Global Times.
The Long-yuan Power Group Corp. owns majority of the project in Fujian Province in East China.
The construction of the project is estimated to cost around 8.2 billion yuan ($1.28 billion), according to the Fujian Development and Reform Commission.
The project was approved by the local government in November.
The plant, located on Nanri Island off the southeast coast of Fujian, will have an installed capacity of 400 megawatts by 2018, according to a Friday report by the Xinhua News Agency. Once complete, it will be second to two other projects that have a projected capacity of 600 megawatts.
Long-yuan is a state-owned and Hong Kong-listed unit of China Guodian Corp. It will invest 5.7 billion yuan, around 70 percent of the total cost of the project, with the rest provided by Jiangyin Sulong Heat and Power Generating Co.
China has become the world's fifth biggest offshore wind power producer since 2014, having approved 44 offshore wind projects in 11 provinces with a combined capacity of 10.53 gigawatts, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).
However, many of those plants were operating by July, with most of them stalled by high construction costs, averaging 20,000 yuan per kilowatt engine, according to NEA documents.
Last week, China expressed its intention to prioritize renewable energy, such as wind and solar, in order to reform its energy sector.