Background

China is developing rapidly and is reputed to be commissioning a new coal fired power station every 5 days to keep up with a surge in demand as the economy expands.

A preliminary study by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (2007) indicated that China's greenhouse gas emissions for 2006 had exceeded those of the United States for the first time. In a country this size, where the government has emphasized raising personal income and consumption to help increase productivity, it is no surprise that China's energy consumption is expected to double by 2020. Since power generated by coal dominates the electricity grid in China, there is a very high amount of greenhouse gas emissions released for each unit of electricity generated (about 0.9kg per kWh – which is twice as “dirty” as that in the UK).

There are opportunities to develop other renewable sources of power within China to meet some of this need for electricity and the Chinese government aims to accelerate this.

The province of Heilongjiang has an abundant wind resource which can be used for clean power generation.

The project

The Mulan wind farm is located approximately 170km NE of Harbin City in Heilongjiang - the northern-most province of China. The area is known for having one of the coldest climates in Asia with howling Siberian gales common in winter and temperatures reaching -30oC.

The wind farm is situated on top of the only hills in Mulan County, making the most of the strong regional wind speeds (measured as 7.8 m/s at 25m). The approach to the site travels through a flat harsh landscape, dotted with poor rural villages where local people farm corn to make a living. There are 20 wind turbines in total, each standing 50m to the top of the tower and rated at 600 kW in capacity. The total wind farm generates approximately 25 GWh of electricity each year, offsetting an estimated 28,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

image: Wind turbine, Mulan, China

The emission reductions are made by reducing the amount of electricity that would have been generated by conventional fossil fuels such as coal or gas.

Other benefits

Social: The wind farm creates local employment in the area during the design, assembly and installation of wind turbines and also through operation and maintenance contracts with the wind farm up and running. In addition, residents of Heilongjiang are very aware of energy because the province suffers very cold winters of between -10 and -30 0C; wind farms in this area therefore provide a valuable example of clean generation to local communities.

Economic: The wind farm will contribute to stimulating the wind power industry in China. Wind generation has to overcome significant financial and common practice barriers to become operational. Investing in thermal power plants is common practice in this area of China and requires half the monetary investment per MW capacity installed compared to wind.

Environmental: The Mulan wind farm is generating clean renewable electricity in a country dominated by coal-fired generation. This will result in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants such as SO2 and soot compared to a business-as-usual scenario.

A 1998 World Health Organisation report on air quality in 272 cities worldwide concluded that seven of the 10 most-polluted cities were in China. Respiratory and heart diseases related to air pollution are the leading causes of death in China. "The wind farm has benefited many people in the local area through the construction of a road to bring in the wind farm materials." Mr Fang, Mulan wind farm manager

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