Gansu Wind Farm | |
---|---|
Country | China |
Location | Gansu |
Coordinates | 40°12′N96°54′E / 40.200°N 96.900°E 40°12′N96°54′E / 40.2°N 96.9°E 40°36′N96°54′E / 40.6°N 96.9°E 40°14′N97°08′E / 40.23°N 97.13°E |
Status | Operational |
Construction began | 2009 |
Owner(s) | multiple |
Wind farm | |
Type | Onshore |
Power generation | |
Nameplate capacity | 7,965 MW Planned: 20,000 MW |
External links | |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
Gansu Wind Farm | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simplified Chinese | 甘肃酒泉风电基地 | ||||||
Traditional Chinese | 甘肅酒泉風電基地 | ||||||
|
The Gansu Wind Farm Project or Jiuquan Wind Power Base is a group of large wind farms under construction in western Gansu province in China. The Gansu Wind Farm Project is located in desert areas near the city of Jiuquan in two localities of Guazhou County and also near Yumen City,in the northwest province of Gansu,which has an abundance of wind. [1] In 2015 the complex was operating at below 40% utilization of the current 8 GW with a planned capacity of 20 GW. [2] [3] In 2017 the 2,383 km long Jiuquan - Hunan HVDC transmission line entered service connecting the remote complex to the Hunan regional grid allowing full utilization of its generation capacity. [4] After 4 years of delays,the latest phase of construction was completed,bringing total generation capacity up to 10GW. It is the world's largest wind power plant,having more than six times the capacity of the second largest,Jaisalmer Wind Park. [5]
The project is one of six national wind power megaprojects approved by the Chinese government. [1] It is expected to grow to 20 gigawatts by 2020,at an estimated cost of 120 billion Chinese yuan ($17.5 billion). The project is being built by more than 20 developers in two localities in Guazhou County and also near Yumen City. [6] [7]
The project is divided into multiple phases. The first 3,800 MW phase consisted of eighteen 200 MW wind farms and two 100 MW wind farms. The second 8,000 MW phase consists of forty 200 MW wind farms. The planned capacity was 5,160 MW by 2010,12,710 MW by 2015 and 20,000 MW in 2020. [6]
In 2008,construction began on a 750 kV AC power line to carry electricity from the wind farm, [8] and construction of the wind farms themselves started in August 2009. [6] Power in 2012 was being purchased for 0.54 yuan per kWh,compared with electricity from coal fired powerplants at 0.3 yuan per kWh. [9] Since operations began,some 6.26 billion kWh has been generated as of October 31,2011 with 5.96 billion kWh of that produced in 2011. [10]
In November 2010 officials announced the completion of the project's first phase,involving the installation of over 3,500 wind turbines with an installed capacity of approximately 5,160 MW according to Wang Jianxin,director of the Jiuquan Development and Reform Commission. [1] Total installed capacity rose to approximately 6,000 MW in March 2012—roughly equivalent to the United Kingdom's entire wind power capacity at that time.
On March 1,2012,a "wind power coordinated control system" was implemented to adjust the output of the 18 wind farms of the Gansu Wind Farm Project,which total 10 GW,to meet the needs of the transmission grid,which is limited to 1.5 GW. This permitted the production of 1 GWh more per day than previously,and greatly improves the system's stability. [2] [11]
Curtailment of wind turbine operations is a first order method for dealing with the intermittency of wind,but normally loses available output when the power grid's transmission capacity has been reached. Other methods involve either added local industrial usage or added local storage capacity. [12] [13]
With local-government favoritism toward coal and inadequate long-distance transmission capacity,Gansu "now has some of the highest rates of underutilization in the wind sector in China". National Energy Administration statistics showed 39 percent of wind capacity in 2015 in Jiuquan was wasted. [2]
As of 2015,Gansu is far from full capacity and the wind farm is producing less than half of its full potential. The two main reasons why this is happening is that Gansu is located far from the major Chinese cities and that there is a lack of demand for wind energy in China. [2]
The Gansu wind farm sits along the Gobi desert where there are extremely high winds. However,this location is about a thousand miles from China's high density port cities that would serve as the biggest consumer of this energy. [2] There is a lack of enough infrastructure and transmission lines that would allow the energy to flow into the cities. There is still also little demand for wind power in China compared to coal. Although China's central government is actively trying to reduce its emissions and build its clean energy sector,the local governments still push coal on their local industries because it creates more economic output and because the coal is mined locally,which helps local coal companies. [2]
In 2017 the 2,383 km long Jiuquan - Hunan HVDC transmission line entered service connecting the remote complex to the Hunan regional grid allowing full utilization of its generation capacity. [4]
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an extensive area. Wind farms can be either onshore or offshore.
India is the third largest producer of electricity in the world. During the fiscal year (FY) 2022–23, the total electricity generation in the country was 1,844 TWh, of which 1,618 TWh was generated by utilities.
The United Kingdom is the best location for wind power in Europe and one of the best in the world. The combination of long coastline, shallow water and strong winds make offshore wind unusually effective.
Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:
Wind power, a form of renewable energy harnessed through wind turbines, stands as a pivotal contributor to Australia's energy landscape. With a total installed wind capacity reaching approximately 9,100 megawatts (MW) as of October 2023, wind power constitutes a significant portion, representing 5% of Australia's total primary energy supply and a substantial 35% of its renewable energy supply. Australia's geographic disposition favors the proliferation of wind energy infrastructure, particularly in the southern regions of the nation and along the slopes of the Great Dividing Range in the east. Approximately half of Australia's wind farms are located near coastal regions.
India's solar power installed capacity was 81.813 GWAC as of 31 March 2024. India is the third largest producer of solar power globally.
Solar power has a small but growing role in electricity production in the United Kingdom.
Wind power generates about 10% of Turkey's electricity, mainly in the west in the Aegean and Marmara regions, and is gradually becoming a larger share of renewable energy in the country. As of 2024, Turkey has 12 gigawatts (GW) of wind turbines. The Energy Ministry plans to have almost 30 GW by 2035, including 5 GW offshore.
As of August 2020 Chile had diverse sources of electric power: for the National Electric System, providing over 99% of the county's electric power, hydropower represented around 26.7% of its installed capacity, biomass 1.8%, wind power 8.8%, solar 12.1%, geothermal 0.2%, natural gas 18.9%, coal 20.3%, and petroleum-based capacity 11.3%. Prior to that time, faced with natural gas shortages, Chile began in 2007 to build its first liquefied natural gas terminal and re-gasification plant at Quintero near the capital city of Santiago to secure supply for its existing and upcoming gas-fired thermal plants. In addition, it had engaged in the construction of several new hydropower and coal-fired thermal plants. But by July 2020 91% of the new capacity under construction was of renewable power, 46.8% of the total solar and 25.6% wind, with most of the remainder hydro.
China is the world's leader in electricity production from renewable energy sources, with over triple the generation of the second-ranking country, the United States. China's renewable energy sector is growing faster than its fossil fuels and nuclear power capacity, and is expected to contribute 43% of global renewable capacity growth. China's total renewable energy capacity exceeded 1,000 GW in 2021, accounting for 43.5 per cent of the country's total power generation capacity, 10.2 percentage points higher than in 2015. The country aims to have 80 per cent of its total energy mix come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2060, and achieve a combined 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030. In 2023, it was reported that China was on track to reach 1,371 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2025, five years ahead of target due to new renewables installations breaking records.
China is the world leader in wind power generation, with the largest installed capacity of any nation and continued rapid growth in new wind facilities. With its large land mass and long coastline, China has exceptional wind power resources: Wind power remained China's third-largest source of electricity at the end of 2021, accounting for 7.5% of total power generation.
Energy in Ethiopia includes energy and electricity production, consumption, transport, exportation, and importation in the country of Ethiopia.
The electricity sector in Sri Lanka has a national grid which is primarily powered by hydroelectric power and thermal power, with sources such as photovoltaics and wind power in early stages of deployment. Although potential sites are being identified, other power sources such as geothermal, nuclear, solar thermal and wave power are not used in the power generation process for the national grid.
In 2016, Arizona had 268 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, producing 0.5% of in-state generated electricity.
Denmark's western electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe whereas the eastern part is connected to the Synchronous grid of Northern Europe via Sweden.
The National Grid covers most of mainland Great Britain and several of the surrounding islands, and there are interconnectors to Northern Ireland and to other European countries. Power is supplied to consumers at 230 volts AC with a frequency of 50 Hz. In 2023 about a third of electricity used in Britain was generated from fossil gas and two-thirds was low-carbon power. Wind generates the most low-carbon power, followed by nuclear some of which is imported from France. The government is aiming for greenhouse gas emissions from electricity in Britain to be net zero by 2035.
The electricity sector in Taiwan ranges from generation, transmission, distribution and sales of electricity, covering Taiwan island and its offshore islands.
Renewable energy in Taiwan contributed to 8.7% of national electricity generation as of end of 2013. The total installed capacity of renewable energy in Taiwan by the end of 2013 was 3.76 GW.
Power sector of Andhra Pradesh is divided into 4 categories namely Regulation, Generation, Transmission and Distribution. Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) is the regulatory body. APGENCO deals with the electricity production and also maintenance, proposes new projects and upgrades existing ones as well. The APGENCO also set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), named as Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Limited (APPDCL), a joint venture company of APGENCO and IL&FS to set up Krishnapatanam thermal power project.
Vietnam utilizes four main sources of renewable energy: hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power and biomass. At the end of 2018, hydropower was the largest source of renewable energy, contributing about 40% to the total national electricity capacity. In 2020, wind and solar had a combined share of 10% of the country's electrical generation, already meeting the government's 2030 goal, suggesting future displacement of growth of coal capacity. By the end of 2020, the total installed capacity of solar and wind power had reached over 17 GW. Over 25% of total power capacity is from variable renewable energy sources. The commercial biomass electricity generation is currently slow and limited to valorizing bagasse only, but the stream of forest products, agricultural and municipal waste is increasing. The government is studying a renewable portfolio standard that could promote this energy source.