Background

China leads the world in deployment of wind power, with more than one-third of global capacity. China has led the world in new wind power additions every year for the past decade. ³⁴

In 2021, roughly 48 GW of wind power capacity were added to the grid in China. Total wind power capacity reached 329 GW. This figure includes 26 GW of offshore wind, most of which was added in 2021. In 2021, wind power accounted for roughly 13% of China’s installed power capacity and 8% of China’s electricity generation. ³⁵

In the first half of 2022, roughly 13 GW of wind power was added to the grid in China. ³⁶

Figure 6-2: China’s Wind Power Capacity (2010–2021)

Source: GIZ 2022 and NEA ³⁷

China’s domestic firms dominate the Chinese wind turbine market. Vestas is the only international company in China’s top 10. Chinese companies are not major players in most wind power markets outside of China, in contrast to solar PV where China dominates the global supply chain. ³⁸

China has significant wind power resources, especially in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and other northern and western provinces. (See map below.)

Figure 6-3: China’s Wind Power Installed Capacity by Province (GW) (Year-End 2021)

Source: GIZ 2022 and NEA ³⁹

Initially, most wind power was located in China’s northern provinces, but in recent years new development has tended to shift towards the more populous eastern provinces.

Curtailment of electricity produced by wind posed a significant challenge in past years, but the situation has been largely resolved at a national level since reaching a peak curtailment rate of 17% in 2016. In 2020, China’s wind power curtailment rate was roughly 3.5% nationally, with rates of 10% in Xinjiang, 7% in Tibet, 6.4% in Gansu and 5.5% in Hunan. ⁴⁰

Policy

The 13th Five-Year Plan established a goal of 210 GW of grid-connected wind power by 2020, including 5 GW of offshore wind. Provinces were given specific deployment goals, including 27 GW for Inner Mongolia, 18 GW for Xinjiang and 18 GW for Hebei. The plan also established a goal of 420 TWh of electricity generation from wind. ⁴¹

A National Energy Administration draft notice on clean energy industry development issued in 2021 set a goal for solar and wind to provide 16.5% of China’s total electricity generation in 2025. ⁴²

China’s feed-in tariff for wind power dates to 2009. Rates vary by region and are declining slowly. In early 2019, the Chinese government announced major changes to the feed-in tariff policies for wind and held auctions for wind projects to sign long-term contracts at below local coal tariffs. ⁴³ Feed-in tariff subsidies remain for offshore wind power, which can help explain the strong growth experienced in this field since 2020.

Under the feed-in tariff regime, starting in 2016 the central government intervened to slow the provincial construction of wind or solar to prevent curtailment, issuing regular investment monitoring reports. In March 2019, the National Energy Administration’s investment monitor halted wind power projects in Xinjiang and Gansu (including those that had already been approved) and banned approvals of new wind power projects in Inner Mongolia and parts of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Hebei. ⁴⁴ In 2020, the NEA halted new wind projects in Tibet, Tianjin, Hebei, Sichuan, Yunnan, part of Shaanxi, part of Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang. ⁴⁵ With curtailment largely at low levels and feed-in tariff subsidies phased out, these interventions may be dropped.

Hydropower

References

IRENA, Renewable Capacity Statistics 2022 (April 2022) at p.13.

IRENA, Renewable Capacity Statistics 2022 (April 2022) at p.13 and 19; NEA, “国家能源局举行新闻发布会发布2021年可再生能源并网运行情况等并答问 [NEA news conference issues 2021 renewable energy integration and operational situation and Q&A]," (in Chinese) (January 29, 2022).

National Energy Administration, “Transcript of the online press conference of the National Energy Administration in the third quarter of 2022” (August 02, 2022) (in Chinese).

National Energy Administration, “国家能源局2021年一季度网上新闻发布会文字实录 [China NEA 1st Quarter 2021 News Conference Transcript],” (in Chinese) (January 30, 2021); National Energy Administration, "我国风力发电正在“走向深海” [China wind power is heading to the deep water]," (in Chinese) (January 21, 2022).

Shashi Barla, “Global Wind Turbine Market: State of Play,” Wood Mackenzie (April 14, 2021); Yuki, “China’s Wind Turbine OEMs Top Ten in 2019,” Iceberg Energy (February 26, 2020).

Map from GIZ, 2022, based on data from China New Energy Monitoring Center, 2021쾨몹伽루밟陋샙、랙든좆섟句케鑒앴 [2021 provincial wind and solar capacity, generation, and consumption statistics],” (March 18, 2022).

China 5e, “西藏弃光超25%，全国风电、光伏消纳情况！[Tibet solar curtailment tops 25%; national wind and solar integration situation update],” (in Chinese) (February 7, 2021).

NEA, “国家能源局关于可再生能源发展“十三五”规划实施的指导意见 [Guiding opinions on the implementation of the “13th FYP” for renewable energy development],” (in Chinese) (July 29, 2017); NEA, “风电发展“十三五”规划” [13th FYP development plan for wind power],” (November 2016).

National Energy Administration, 国家能源局综合司关于对《关于2021年风电、光伏发电开发建设有关事项的通知（征求意见稿）》公开征求意见的公告 [NEA Comprehensive Reform Department Issues 2021 Wind and Solar PV Development and Construction Notice Draft for Comments],” (in Chinese) (April 19, 2021).

NDRC and NEA, “Notice on the first batch of 2019 of non-subsidized wind and PV power generation projects (grid-parity projects),” (May 20, 2019); NDRC and NEA, “Notice on the establishment and improvement of a safeguard mechanism for renewable electricity consumption,” (in Chinese) (May 10, 2019); NDRC and NEA, “Notice on actively promoting the non-subsidized generation of wind and PV power,” (January 7, 2019); Angel Hang, “Is China Ready for Subsidy-Free Renewables?,” Greentech Media (May 31, 2019).

NEA, “Circular on 2019 wind power investment monitoring and early warning results,” (May 4, 2019).

National Energy Administration, “国家能源局关于发布《2020年度风电投资监测预警结果》和《2019年度光伏发电市场环境监测评价结果》的通知 [NEA issues 2020 wind investment monitor early warning result and 2019 solar PV market environmental evaluation result],” (in Chinese) (March 30, 2020).