Two hydropower stations and two wind farms with a total capacity of 2,001 megawatts have received approval to operate in a move to help spur the economy as well as to increase the share of renewables in the national energy mix.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website on Thursday that it approved the Luding Hydropower Station in the Southwestern Sichuan province, which will include four units of 230 megawatts each, and the Dongjing Hydropower plant in the Southwestern Guizhou province, with four units of 220 megawatts each. The two wind farms, the Rudong wind farm in East China's Jiangsu and Guyuan wind power station in North China's Hebei, each have a capacity of 100.5 megawatts.
Zhang Guobao, vice minister of the NDRC in charge of the energy sector, said last week on the sidelines of the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) that China should increase investment in the renewable energy sector, even though the current financial crisis has temporarily cushioned the conflicts between energy supply and demand.
Zhang warned if the country did not give the development of new energy its due importance, "we will find ourselves lagging behind the world within a decade."
