China Resources betting 3b yuan on wind farms

Hong Kong-listed China Resources said on Thursday it will spend 3 billion yuan ($490 million) to build wind power projects with a total installed capacity of 300,000 kilowatts in Chongqing, the Chongqing Daily reported.

Song Lin, president of the Chinese conglomerate, whose businesses extend from retail, power and real estate to food and medicine, was quoted by local media as saying that the company will continue to invest in new energy, especially in the wind power industry.

Chongqing, a mountainous city in the western part of China, has rich wind power resources and has become a battlefield for both private and State-owned electrical enterprises.

Datang International Power Generation Co, China Guodian Corp and Guangdong Mingyang Wind Power have all invested heavily in the wind market of Chongqing.

To meet an electricity shortage that totaled 3 million kilowatts last year, the government of Chongqing plans to invest 7 billion yuan in adding 14 new wind farms with a total installed capacity of 700,000 kilowatts by 2015.

But experts cautioned that there are many risks inherent in building projects in a wind power market that is still saddled with overcapacity, abandoned wind turbines and turbine manufacturers that have suffered losses.