China has the largest total power generation ability from wind energy among all countries and continues to add new wind power facilities quickly.

Because of its large size and long coastline, China has excellent wind power resources. In 2021, wind power was the third-largest source of electricity in China, making up 7.5% of all electricity produced.

In 2020, China added 71.6 gigawatts of new wind power capacity, bringing its total wind power capacity to 281 gigawatts. Both the total wind power capacity and the amount of new wind power added in 2020 were the highest in the world. The next largest country, the United States, added 14 gigawatts in 2020 and had a total wind power capacity of 118 gigawatts.

In late 2020, the Chinese government announced a plan to reach 1,200 gigawatts of wind and solar power capacity by 2030. This goal was achieved in 2024, six years earlier than planned. Wind power is considered an important part of China's economic growth. Experts believe China can reach carbon neutrality before 2060 and reduce emissions to a peak before 2030.

A 2020 forecast by Fitch Solutions predicted that wind power generation in China would reach about 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2028. This is higher than earlier predictions of 870 terawatt-hours, because improvements in technology have lowered the cost of wind power projects.

In 2021, China was responsible for nearly 70% of all new wind power capacity added worldwide. The United States added 14%, and Brazil added 7%.

As of 2024, China is the world's largest producer of wind power equipment. The largest wind turbine maker in China is Goldwind, based in Xinjiang province. Founded in 1998, Goldwind worked to develop new technology and increase its market share. However, its market share dropped from 35% in 2006 to 19% in 2012. In 2019, Goldwind became one of the first companies to join a project to produce hydrogen using wind power in northeast China. This project aims to use wind energy that is currently not being used to create a low-cost energy source for hydrogen. The China Longyuan Electric Power Group Corp., a part of China Guodian Corporation, was an early leader in operating wind farms. At one time, it managed 40% of all wind farms in China.

Installed capacity

From 2006 to 2009, China's wind power grew very quickly, with its capacity doubling each year for four years straight.

History

In 2005, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed a law requiring Chinese power grid companies to buy all electricity generated by renewable energy sources.

Chinese developers introduced the world's first permanent Maglev wind turbine at the Wind Power Asia Exhibition 2006 in Beijing.

Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology Company invested 400 million Chinese yuan to build the base for the Maglev wind turbine generators. Construction began in November 2007.

Zhongke Hengyuan expects to earn 1.6 billion Chinese yuan annually from the generators.

In 2006, the Shanghai Power Company purchased 64.485 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of green energy, mostly from wind farms. However, only 23% of that energy was used by customers. At that time, only 6,482 households in Shanghai had subscribed to renewable energy. This was partly because wind power cost 0.53 yuan per kilowatt-hour more than energy from coal plants. In 2007, wind farms in Shanghai produced 100 GWh of electricity, enough to power 120,000 homes.

Although 22 companies in Shanghai purchased renewable energy, only one-third of them were state-owned enterprises. The rest were foreign-owned companies. The Shanghai city government did not buy any renewable energy. Of the top ten power users in Shanghai, only Bao Steel purchased renewable energy. In 2006, Bao Steel signed an agreement to buy 1.2 GWh of renewable energy over three years.

By the end of 2008, at least 15 Chinese companies were producing wind turbines commercially. Many more companies were making parts for turbines.

Turbines with sizes between 1.5 megawatts and 3 megawatts became common.

Leading wind power companies in China included Goldwind, Dongfang Electric, and Sinovel, along with most major foreign turbine manufacturers. China also produced about 80,000 small-scale wind turbines in 2008. These developments did not affect the Chinese wind industry during the Great Recession, according to industry reports.

In 2010, China became the world's largest wind energy provider, with 41.8 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind power capacity by the end of the year. However, about a quarter of this capacity was not connected to the power grid.

In 2011, China announced a plan to have 100 GW of grid-connected wind power capacity by 2015 and to generate 190 terawatt-hours of wind energy each year. This goal was achieved in 2014, making China the first country to reach 100 GW of installed wind capacity.

As of 2014, Goldwind was the largest wind energy company in China, with 19% of new wind power installations. Guodian United Power Technology Company (a part of China Guodian Corporation) had 11%, and Mingyang Wind Power had 9%.

The Gansu Wind Farm Project in western Gansu province is one of six major national wind power projects approved by the Chinese government.

In some countries, large wind farms face objections about their appearance. However, in China, wind farms are often seen as visually appealing because they are linked to modernity and green development.

Offshore wind

Offshore wind power is an important part of China's plan to develop clean energy. China has a coastline that is 18,000 kilometers long and is believed to have up to 750 million kilowatts of usable offshore wind power resources. In 2012, China set a goal to install 5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2015 and 30 GW by 2020. However, progress was slower than expected. The first offshore wind farm in China, the Donghai Bridge Wind Farm, began construction in April 2009 near Donghai Bridge and was completed in 2010 to supply electricity for the 2010 Shanghai Expo. This wind farm has 34 Sinovel 3-megawatt (MW) wind turbines and cost $102 million. The next project, the 150 MW Longyuan Rudong Intertidal Wind Farm, cost 500 million yuan and became operational in 2012. By the end of 2012, China had only installed 389.6 MW of offshore wind capacity, which was much less than the 5 GW target for 2015.

In May 2014, China's offshore wind capacity was 565 MW, increasing to about 900 MW by 2015, which was still less than one-fifth of the 2015 goal. Installations grew significantly in 2016, with 592 MW of offshore wind power added, making China the third-largest offshore wind power producer globally after Germany and the Netherlands. By the end of 2016, China had a total of 1.9 GW of offshore wind power capacity.

The slower start of offshore wind development in China was mainly because local turbine manufacturers lacked experience in this area. This led to reliance on foreign products, with Siemens becoming the largest supplier of offshore wind turbines in China. Another challenge was the high cost and risks of offshore projects, which made private companies hesitant to invest.

In August 2020, a report by the Global Wind Energy Council stated that China is expected to host more than one-fifth of the world's offshore wind turbines, totaling 52 GW, and will become the largest offshore wind market by 2030.

In 2021 alone, China added more offshore wind capacity than the rest of the world had built in the previous five years combined. That year, China commissioned 16.9 GW of offshore wind power, which made up 80% of all new global offshore wind capacity added in 2021. This rapid growth means China now operates nearly half of the world's installed offshore wind power, with 26 GW of a total of 54 GW worldwide.

As of the third quarter of 2024, China had 39.1 million kilowatts of offshore wind power connected to its national grid, ranking first globally. The country's offshore wind industry includes design, manufacturing, construction, operations, and maintenance. Offshore wind capacity in China grew from under 5 million kilowatts in 2018 to 37.7 million kilowatts by 2023, accounting for 50% of the global total.

In November 2024, The Straits Times reported that China is building the world's largest commercial floating offshore wind farm near Hainan. The 1 GW project, led by state-owned PowerChina, will be built in two phases: 200 MW by 2025 and 800 MW by 2027. Unlike traditional offshore wind farms that use fixed foundations, floating turbines can be placed in deeper waters where wind speeds are usually higher.

Issues

Areas with strong wind power potential, such as Gansu, are often far from cities and factories. Coal-fired power plants have support from miners and local governments, which wind-power projects do not. This means wind power is not used as much as it could be.

The power grid’s ability to send electricity has not kept up with the growth of wind farms in China. In 2009, only 72% (8.94 GW) of China’s total wind power capacity was connected to the grid. By 2014, 96.37 GW of China’s wind power capacity was connected, out of a total of 114.6 GW. In the first half of 2015, 1.75 TWh of wind power was wasted, according to China’s National Energy Administration. A slower Chinese economy in 2015 also caused overproduction in the power sector, reducing demand. To address this, the Chinese government stopped approving new coal power plants for three years starting in 2016. In 2015, wind power in North China was reduced by nearly 34 TWh.

In 2014, the United States generated more electricity from wind (167 TWh) than China despite having less wind power capacity. A 2013 report in The Economist stated that the U.S. produced 40% more energy from a similar wind power capacity because Chinese wind farms are not efficiently connected to the power grid.

One possible solution is to place wind turbines near cities, but this has challenges. A study by Shen et al. (2019) found that some people in China are hesitant to build wind turbines in urban areas. Many people wrongly fear radiation from turbines. The study also found that people in China, like those in other countries, are concerned about the cost of wind power and its effects on wildlife. Sharing clear information about wind turbines with the public may help reduce these concerns.