New wind power group sprouts up in Chongqing

Dabaoliang wind power station, which will have the largest installed capacity, is under construction. [Photo/CFP]

The windy region of the Seven Luminaries Mountain is now home to the Seven Luminaries upland wind power group, which has the largest installed capacity for generating electricity in all of Chongqing. Part of the group is still undergoing construction, including Dabaoliang wind power station, which is projected to go into operation on August 30, 2015. The generating capacity would then reach 900 million kilowatts per hour.

A wind generator is composed of a pylon, vanes and a main engine. The pylon can be hoisted and installed in several parts, while the giant vanes with a length of 50-60 meters and a weight of a dozen tons have to be transported and hoisted up to the top. The loading and unloading of the vanes requires three cranes and more than 20 workers.

It was dawn when three vanes arrived at the hoisting spot. As the weather conditions were good, the installation commenced that night. The installation process was successful, and eventually the three vanes were installed on the pylon.

The Seven Luminaries Mountain region covering Shizhu, Fengjie and Fengdu counties experiences the most wind in Chongqing. This region includes several wind power stations, such as Dabaolaing, Shiziping, Huishanping and Qianyecaochang. Right now, the number of exploitable wind power stations may reach 31, bringing the whole capacity of the wind power group to 1.72 million kilowatts. The majority of the stations are located in the Seven Luminaries Mountain region. Guodian Group controls 31.2 percent of the whole installed capacity, as reported by the branch company of Guodian Group in Chongqing.

The future of the wind power industry in Chongqing is bright. With current technology, if a region's average wind speed reaches more than 6 meters/second, then it is suitable for wind power development. With further advances in wind energy technology, regions with an average wind speed of 4 to 5 meters/second may also be exploited in the future. The Chongqing government has introduced many preferential policies to encourage the construction of wind power stations. To develop clean energy, the wind power program can be funded by the Strategic Emerging Industry Development Funds. Besides, the tax policy for the wind power industry is also favorable.