Here is an article about renewable energy in China:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/12/quick-look-renewable-energy-development-in-china
Some interesting points:
This year, China is installing more wind power than any other country.
It is the world's largest wind power market, and "likely to surpass the
US as the leader in cumulative wind power capacity" by the end of 2010.
At the end of 2009 it had 25 GW installed, and they are now predicting
that will increase to ~250 GW by 2020. Adjusting for capacity factor
that is roughly equivalent to 90 U.S. nuclear plants, which is almost as
many as we have. this is expected to cost roughly $225 billion. I
previously estimated this would cost roughly $200-$300 billion.
Power from the latest generation of Chinese wind turbines is expected
cost $0.08 per kilowatt hour.
In the US, this would be enough wind capacity to produce roughly 20% of
our electricity, which is probably the limit to how much can be produced
with wind given the limitations to the distribution network. If we were
to do this in the US, without expanding electric power generation, we
could retire 40% of coal-fired generators, starting with the oldest,
dirtiest and most inefficient ones. Electric power demand has not
increased much in recent years so that would be a reasonable goal.
The New York Times has run a couple of articles recently about how the
Chinese are aggressively blocking foreign companies from setting up wind
manufacturing in China while the same time they are planning to come
into the US market in a big way.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/business/global/15chinawind.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/business/global/16wind.html
The Times says that China's installed capacity is 43 GW. The other
source said 25 GW last year, and it could not have increased to 43 GW in
only one year, so there is a discrepancy. Numbers like this tend to vary
quite a bit from one source to another. They are approximations at best.
- Jed
