2016-06-28

Tilting at Windmills in China

Earlier: More Zombies: China Littered With Idle Wind Power

Bloomberg: Trouble in Renewable Energy Spotted in China’s Idled Wind Farms
The nation’s clean-energy investment binge has made it the world leader in wind, accounting for about one in every three turbines currently installed, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. In turn, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., which makes the machines, has pushed past its western rivals such as Vestas Wind Systems A/S and General Electric Co.

Yet even with double the wind capacity, China still produces less electricity from turbines when compared with the U.S. That’s because it’s installing lower-quality machines using less reliable breezes and doing so more quickly than the distribution grid can take in the flows.
Lots of reasons for why wind power isn't doing as well in China, despite the large installed base, but not the most obvious: the failure of central planning.

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