Blown it: China’s offshore wind farms suffer repeated setbacks

Blown it: China’s offshore wind farms suffer repeated setbacks

Staff Reporter

2013-07-28

In 2010, the Chinese government successfully held public bids for the nation’s first four offshore wind farm projects, all off the coast of Jiangsu province, but three years on,the four projects have yet to break ground due to a number of factors, including difficulties in the coordination for the use of the sea area, an unclear power-rate policy, the immaturity of peripheral industrial chain and a protracted approval process. “The progress of the project is slower and the time for approval longer than expected,” an executive of one of the bid-winning enterprises has admitted.An industry insider notes that approval for setting up the offshore wind farms is complicated due to the involvement of multiple government agencies, including those in the fields of energy, oceanic affairs, meteorology, military, transportation and environmental protection. Related scientific research and study is time-consuming, sometimes exceeding two years and projects may have to be revised should the chosen site come into conflict with existing marine use, such as shipping routes, fishing, ecology and wetland preservation.

The China Business Journal, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, notes that advanced study and research is difficult and time-consuming and various government agencies take different positions, inevitably affecting the progress of the projects.

Jiangsu province has played a pioneering role in the development of wind farms in China. In recent years, the provincial government has signed letters of intent with wind-power developers for 70% of sites suited to wind farm projects but few of the projects have broken ground, with only 20% of them having achieved substantial progress in preparation work.

“Most investors are holding a wait-and-see attitude and some are overhauling their projects after encountering major difficulties in the preparation,” said the insider.

While new projects have stalled, a few offshore wind farms which have managed to begin operating are confronted with difficulties in cultivating professional talent and keeping running, on top of maintenance work. While offshore wind farms represent the future of the wind power industry, the development, construction and operation of offshore wind farms are much more complicated than onshore sites, due to the need for them to withstand the impact of waves and the corrosion from seawater and salty air.

Kao Hongbiao, vice general manager of China Longyuan Power Group Corp, admits that to judge from the experience of some existing offshore wind farms, the reliability of offshore generators has been much lower than expectations. An insider notes that maintenance costs accounts for 25% of the cost of generating wind power offshore and the malfunction rate of generating units is 10 times that of onshore generators.

Moreover, according to the China Business Journal, there remains a lack of comprehensive planning for offshore wind power in China, for reasonable power rates and the support of a mature industrial chain.

According to the China Wind Energy Association, as of the end of 2012 the total capacity of wind farms in operation in the country reached only 389,000 kilowatts. As a result, the government’s goal of boosting the nation’s total generating capacity from offshore wind farms to 5 million kilowatts by 2015, as mapped out in the 12th five-year development plan, appears to be unachievable.