Beijing is looking into tapping wind power sources to use for heating, as part of its efforts of combatting air pollution. (Photo : Reuters)
To battle worsening air conditions in China, the government has reaffirmed its stance toward the use of clean energy, which includes hydropower, nuclear power and wind power.
Wind power is China's third largest source of energy, accounting for 2.78 percent of the country's total generated electricity. 2014 saw a record-high increase in the nation's wind power capacity, an impressive 19.81 million kilowatts, which enabled the generation of 153.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year.
It's all well and good, but apparently most of the wind electricity generated was wasted thanks to China's flawed grid system and imbalanced distribution of wind resources.
As a result, new wind projects will not be approved in Chinese provinces where more than 20 percent of wind electricity is abandoned, according to China's energy regulator.
According to reports, an average of 8 percent of wind electricity was abandoned in 2014. It's 4 percentage points less than the wind electricity wasted in 2013, but the first three months of 2015 saw an alarming 18.6 percent of wind power wasted.
The National Energy Administration (NEA) announced that cities and provinces that plan to use wind resources will have to increase energy transfer through improved grid connectivity. The agency attributed the waste of wind power to weak demand of electricity and wind conditions.
Chinese provinces categorized as "wind-rich" are mostly located in the north and northwest regions, where there is low demand for electricity supply. These provinces, unlike their southern counterparts, are considerably less developed and urbanized.
