Wind Power News: China
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Chinese turbine collapse and ‘serious casualty’ prompts order for day-long local shutdown
The collapse of a wind turbine in China has prompted a state authority to order a daylong shutdown of projects in the region to tackle safety failings. The Xinjiang Supervision Office of China’s National Energy Administration issued the notice on 3 November following the collapse of a turbine being constructed by China Power Construction Barkol New Energy Co. during electrical installation work. The company is reportedly developing a 600MW wind farm using 7.15MW turbines near Hami, a city in the . . . Complete story »
Windey Energy Technology Group wind turbine collapse causing casualties in China
According to the New Insight of Wind Power newswire in China, a serious accident occurred in the first week of November at the 600MW wind power project in Barkol Kazakh autonomous county – a part of Hami Prefecture in Xinjiang. A wind turbine tower reportedly collapsed as it was being hoisted as part of the tower’s installation. A total of five workers were working at the tower, with one person outside and four people inside. One person is dead, one . . . Complete story »
Bird pooped Walkaway wind turbines turned away with no quarantine facility at Mid West Ports Authority
Bird poo–contaminated wind turbines from China have been turned away from Geraldton Port due to a biosecurity risk, fuelling concerns over a lack of quarantine facilities for big imports. A vessel transporting large wind turbines was due to dock in Geraldton on Friday, September 8, but was rejected after it was found the shipment had been tainted with bird faeces while at sea. The wind turbines were redirected to Fremantle to be washed at a quarantine facility and will be . . . Complete story »
Wind farms lead to ‘significant’ decrease in soil moisture, study finds
A new study has found that wind farms can have a “significant” impact on soil moisture, and aggravate the soil drying in grassland areas, with impacts on ecosystems. The research, published in peer-reviewed journal, Science of the Total Environment, found that “wind farms significantly reduced soil moisture within the wind farms and in the upwind and downwind directions.” The study focused on wind farms located in the grasslands of China, and researchers “analyzed changes in soil moisture in different wind . . . Complete story »
Curtailment, the scourge of wind turbines and solar panels, is rearing its head in China again
China is wasting more and more clean energy as it adds wind turbines and solar panels faster than its grid is able to digest them. Nearly 12% of power generated by wind turbines in Inner Mongolia this year has been wasted because the grid couldn’t take it, along with 10% of solar power in Qinghai, Economic Information Daily reported, citing government data. In sunny and windswept but sparsely populated Gansu province, the utilization rate of wind and solar power could . . . Complete story »
Taiwan monitors impact of Chinese wind turbine project
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) has expressed concern the Chinese offshore wind turbines under construction 7 nautical miles (13 kilometers) south of the Matsu Islands will affect the wellbeing of Matsu residents and the local marine environment. Tsai submitted an inquiry to the Cabinet, stating that China’s Funeng Strait Company will operate 30 Dongfang Electric Wind Power 10-megawatt wind turbines at the Changle offshore wind farm, Liberty Times reported. The site, she noted, is close to Matsu’s waters, . . . Complete story »
China to stop subsidies for new solar power stations, onshore wind projects in 2021
China will no longer grant subsidies for new solar power stations, distributed solar projects by commercial users or onshore wind projects from the central government budget in 2021, the state planner said in a statement on Friday. Electricity generated from the new projects will be sold at local benchmark coal-fired power prices or at market prices, the statement said. The new rule will take effective from Aug. 1. Complete story »
Apple’s Uyghur dilemma grows
Apple is investing in wind farms in China as it develops a carbon neutral supply chain. But the company’s wind partner in China has links to the repression of minority Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Apple faces mounting scrutiny of its China-based supply chain after an investigation by The Information, in partnership with the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), found that seven Apple suppliers had ties to suspected forced labor of Uyghurs from the Xinjiang region. Now, new research by TTP is highlighting . . . Complete story »
Seltene Erden als Druckmittel: Deutsche Industrie fürchtet neue Bestimmungen aus China
[German industry fears new regulations on rare earth elements from China.] Seltene Erden sind wichtig für alle Zukunftstechnologieprodukte. China will diesen Industriezweig nun neu regulieren. In der deutschen Industrie ist die Sorge darüber groß. Berlin In der deutschen Industrie wächst die Sorge, ob die Versorgung der Hersteller moderner Hochtechnologie-Produkte mit dem wichtigen Grundstoff Seltene Erden künftig noch sicher ist. „Die Unsicherheit herrscht darüber, ob China Seltene Erden als Druckmittel gegenüber Unternehmen auch aus Europa einsetzen will“, sagte Matthias Wachter, Rohstoffexperte . . . Complete story »
Kann das wirklich sein: Windräder als Klimakiller?
Vogel-, Fledermaus -und Insektenschlag, Schattenwurf und Infraschall sind bislang die bekanntesten Argumente gegen Windkraftanlagen. Und jetzt auch das noch: Forscher in den Niederlanden, den USA, in Kanada und China haben, war in einer überregionalen Zeitung zu lesen, ermittelt: Große Windturbinen sind mitverantwortlich für Dürre und Erderwärmung… Unter ihnen die profilierte US-amerikanische Geo-Ingenieurin Christine L. Archer und der kanadische Wissenschaftler David W. Keith. Sie und andere Wissenschaftler hätten den Dürre-Effekt durch Verwirbelung hinter den Windrädern nachgewiesen, was als Nachlauf oder wie . . . Complete story »