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Wind Power News: China
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission 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. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
Five dead after fall during wind turbine installation
Government report blames ‘chaotic and ineffective’ management of project. Five workers died while installing a Goldwind wind turbine in China after the platform they were standing on collapsed, with a local authority having now issued a damning report into the incident, which prompted multiple arrests. The incident occurred last year while workers were installing the concrete tower for a Goldwind GWH 204/6.25MW turbine at a 150MW project in China’s eastern Anhui Province. The EPC general contractor for the 24-turbine project . . . Complete story »
‘Two blades break off’ world’s most powerful wind turbine in China
The world’s most powerful wind turbine, a 20MW giant manufactured by Mingyang, has reportedly suffered multiple blade breaks just months after the prototype machine was installed in China. The blades on the MySE18.X-20MW prototype offshore model broke earlier this month, according to Chinese news reports. Videos posted on Chinese social media show pieces of the giant blades falling from the turbine as it still spins. Other videos and pictures posted show the turbine now static, missing two blades entirely. Local . . . Complete story »
Studie weist nach: Massive Waldschäden durch Windparks
[Study shows massive forest damage caused by wind farms] Windräder verursachen umfangreiche Schäden für Menschen, Fauna und Flora. Insbesondere der Bau in Waldgebieten ruft großflächige Schäden an Bäumen und Böden hervor. Es kommt zur Abnahme der Belaubung und zu Bodenerosion sowohl durch den Bau benötigter Straßen als auch durch den Betrieb. „Grüne“ Energie, die die Erde weniger grün macht. Eine über 22 Jahre laufende Studie in China hatte gezeigt, dass Windräder zu einer erheblichen Reduktion der Biomasseproduktion führt. Zu einem . . . Complete story »
Ill wind: China, US, leading wind turbine manufacturers and U.S. energy provider linked to illegal logging in the Amazon
In order to construct their wind turbine blades, energy giants in the U.S., such as GE Vernova, and leading manufacturers in China, like Goldwind (金风科技) and Mingyang (明阳风电), appear to have relied for years on balsa wood sources that include timber stolen from protected forests and the exploitation of Indigenous communities in the Amazon. During a multi-year investigation, ILL WIND: From Amazon Forest Crimes in Ecuador to Wind Turbines in the U.S. and China, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA US) . . . Complete story »
Typhoon Yagi destroys wind turbines on Wenchang, Hainan
Typhoon Yagi made landfall near Wenchang on the island of Hainan, China, on September 6. It had already wreaked havoc on the island of Luzon in the Phillipines, and afterward went on to northern Vietnam. In all, at least 85 people were killed (dozens are still missing) and 425 injured. Among the damaged structures were these wind turbines near Wenchang. The Hainan Jinshan Wenchang facility was commissioned in 2009 and comprised 32 1.5-MW models (Sinovel Wind SL1500/60) and 1 2-MW. The 1.5-MW . . . Complete story »
China warns data leaks from wind towers could threaten national security
Companies with ties to foreign spies are building meteorological towers and sending sensitive information abroad. China’s Ministry of State Security has warned of data leak risks from wind measurement towers as part of the country’s sweeping national security drive. On Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV shared cases obtained from the ministry, reporting that “a few companies” with ties to foreign spy agencies had “secretly infiltrated areas” around the country’s classified locations under the guise of building such towers – tall structures . . . Complete story »
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 »
