Fostering a renewable energy technology industry: An international comparison of wind industry policy support mechanisms

This article examines the importance of national and sub-national policies in supporting the development of successful global wind turbine manufacturing companies. We explore the motivations behind establishing a local wind power industry, and the paths that different countries have taken to develop indigenous large wind turbine manufacturing industries within their borders. This is done through a cross-country comparison of the policy support mechanisms that have been employed to directly and indirectly promote wind technology manufacturing in 12 countries. We find that in many instances there is a clear relationship between a manufacturer's success in its home country market and its eventual success in the global wind power market. Whether new wind turbine manufacturing entrants are able to succeed will likely depend in part on the utilization of their turbines in their own domestic market, which in turn will be influenced by the annual size and stability of that market. Consequently, policies that support a sizable, stable market for wind power, in conjunction with policies that specifically provide incentives for wind power technology to be manufactured locally, are most likely to result in the establishment of an internationally competitive wind industry.     

Comparative assessment of performance of foreign and local wind turbine manufacturers in China

Compared to the conventional fossil fuel energy, wind power provides clean energy which can mitigate the impacts of greenhouse gas emission and optimize the electric power source structure. During the last decade, the strong support of the Chinese government has contributed to the rapid development of the Chinese wind power sector which has in turn resulted in a significant growth of the Chinese wind turbine manufacturing industry. This growth went through several phases including the initial approval of several leading global Wind Turbine Manufacturers (WTMs) to enter the Chinese market through various methods which included the establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises from 2005. Similarly, several government policies have contributed to the significant expansion in terms of both productivity and quantities by local Chinese WTMs. The entrance of foreign WTMs into the Chinese market coupled with the rapid growth of local WTMs has contributed to intense competition in China’s wind turbine manufacture market. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the wind turbine manufacturing industry in China and establishes a hierarchical structure of the WTMs’ competitive priority system. This system consists of 5 indicators and 10 sub-indicators. By comparing the different performances of each indicator, the competitive advantages and disadvantages of the foreign and local WTMs in the Chinese market are identified. The findings provide a valuable reference for the WTMs to improve their competitive priorities and to formulate their competitive strategy in the Chinese wind turbine market. This paper provides inputs for the sustainable development of wind power industry in other countries.     

An over painted oriental arts: Evaluation of the development of the Chinese renewable energy market using the wind power market as a model

China is now the largest CO₂ polluter in the world. However, the renewable energy policies in China are controversial and one can easily draw the wrong conclusions that Chinese renewable energy development has taken off from a surface assessment of the policies. By investigating and summarizing the first-hand experiences of participation in the Chinese renewable market (mainly wind farm development) in the past five years, this paper provides another dimension of policy analysis and independent review of the current issues facing the market. An investigation of policy changes and consequences clearly demonstrates the transformation of the Chinese renewable market. The domestic manufacturing quality and unprofessional design of wind farms made most developers’ financial returns unrealistic in the wind market. Despite the difficulties and inconsistency in the system, China is tackling environmental issues seriously and heading in the right direction. With centrally controlled management, the Chinese strategies do not have to be justified financially. It is envisioned by the authors that re-organizing over 70 existing Chinese wind turbine manufacturers is unavoidable. Establishment of an internal renewable market, such as Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) system in the UK whose effectiveness is another subject of debate, would be an effective means by which the Chinese government in their post-2012 strategy could make the wind market more financially viable.     

Design and construction of a simple blade pitch measurement system for small wind turbines

For small wind turbines to be reliable they must have in place good mechanisms to protect themselves against very high winds or sudden removal of load. One common protection method in small wind turbines is that of blade feathering. It is important that the blade feathering mechanism of a small wind turbine is tested before the turbine is installed in the field. This paper presents a simple system for monitoring the blade feathering of a turbine with an overall component cost that small wind turbine manufacturers can afford. The Blade Pitch Measurement System (BPMS) has been designed and constructed by the Research Institute of Sustainable Energy (RISE) and aids small wind turbine manufacturers in testing and optimising the settings of the blade feathering mechanisms on their machines. The results show that the BPMS was successful in recording the behaviour of the blade feathering mechanism in field trials with a 20 kW and a 30 kW wind turbine. The BPMS displays significant potential as an effective, inexpensive system for small wind turbine manufacturers to ensure the reliability of their pitch regulating over-speed protection mechanisms.     

Status and problems of wind turbine structural health monitoring techniques in China

Wind energy is an important renewable energy source because of its reliability due to the maturity of the technology, good infrastructure and relative cost competitiveness. Rich wind resources and strong support in regulations by the Chinese government have enabled the wind power industry to grow at a fast speed and the primary market scale has been achieved, making it the second largest wind power market in the world. There has also been an increase in wind energy research in various regions in China during the last few years. As utility-size wind turbines increase in size, and correspondingly their initial capital investment cost, there is an increasing need to monitor the health of these structures. However, most of the research papers in China are about the manufacture and production, such as the simulation of the wind turbine generator system model, the systematic resonance and stability for the world turbine, the wind speed, wind power and pitch adjustment simulation model, and so on. Few papers focus on the structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques of the wind turbine. In this paper, we review the status of the current SHM techniques in wind turbine and analyze the problems of them in China. The aims of this paper are to let more scholars and experts know the status of the current SHM techniques and to do something for building a successful industry in China.     

Review of recent offshore wind power developments in china

Rapid wind power development in China has attracted worldwide attention. The huge market potential and fast development of wind turbine manufacturing capacity are making China a world leader in wind power development. In 2010, with the newly installed wind power capacity and the cumulative installed capacity, China was ranked first in the world. In 2009, China also constructed and commissioned its first large offshore wind farm near Shanghai. Following earlier papers reviewing the state of China's onshore wind industry, this paper presents a broader perspective and up‐to‐date survey of China's offshore wind power development, making comparisons between the developments in the rest of the world and China, to draw out similarities and differences and lessons for the China offshore wind industry. The paper highlights six important aspects for China's offshore wind development: economics, location, Grid connection, technological development, environmental adaptation and national policies. The authors make recommendations for mitigating some outstanding issues in these six aspects for the future development of China's offshore wind resource. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Building a wave energy policy focusing on innovation,manufacturing and deployment

The Irish Government has set a goal to make Ireland a world leader for research, development and deployment of ocean energy technologies. Ireland has a wave energy resource of 21 TWh and an ambition is to achieve at least 500 MW installed generating capacity from ocean energy by 2020. This paper investigates what is required to move from ambition to delivery. A successful wave energy strategy will require focused policies that will stimulate innovation to develop the technologies, manufacturing to produce the devices and deployment to build the required wave power plants. The paper draws on the successful policies in Ireland that have stimulated each of these dimensions, albeit for different sectors. From 2004 to 2008, successful policies in (ICT and biotech) innovation led to an increase in Ireland's Innovation Index score from 0.48 to 0.53. The policy focus on (food and pharmaceuticals) manufacturing in Ireland resulted in high levels of economic growth over the period 1998–2002, reaching >10% GDP growth levels per annum, and full employment. Successful wind energy policies deployment has accelerated rapidly since 2003 and reached 1.2 GW installed capacity in 2009 representing 15% of Ireland's total installed capacity. The paper draws on appropriate elements of these policies to build a successful wave energy policy for Ireland. It also draws on the successful policies adopted in Denmark for innovation, manufacturing and deployment of wind energy. The Danish wind turbine manufacturers hold a world market share of approximately 40%. The paper proposes establishing a wave energy strategy group to develop an action plan to deliver the 500 MW. It also proposes a novel extension of corporate tax specifically for wave energy companies, an initial 30% capital grant scheme for wave energy developers, a grid code for wave energy devices and fast tracking of planning decisions through an amended approach to strategic infrastructure.     

Wind turbine concept market penetration over 10 years (1995–2004)

The aim of this article is to investigate the market penetration and share of different wind turbine concepts during the years 1995–2004, a period that represents the maturational era of the modern wind power industry. A detailed overview is given based on suppliers' market data and concept evaluation for each individual wind turbine type sold by the Top Ten suppliers over the selected decade. The investigation is processing information on approximately 160 wind turbine types from 22 different manufacturers that have featured in the Top Ten list of wind turbine suppliers during 1995–2004. The analysis is based on comprehensive data covering approximately 97% of the cumulative wind power installed worldwide at the end of 2004. The article also provides an overall perspective on contemporary wind turbine concepts, classified with respect to both their speed control ability and power control type. Current and future trends for wind turbine concepts are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.     

H级燃气轮机的发展现状及技术特点分析

为了应对日益高涨的能源价格及环保要求,参考和借鉴国外最新的H级燃气轮机的技术对提高我国燃气轮机联合循环发电的效率和经济性至关重要。相较于F级重型燃气轮机技术的研究,国内研究和制造单位对于更先进的H级重型燃气轮机的研究分析尚且不足。本文总结了国内外H级燃气轮机的装机情况,分析了全球四大燃气轮机发电设备主机厂最新H级燃气轮机的技术特点,综述了国内H级燃气轮机目前研究发展现状,以期为国内先进重型燃气轮机研发和设备选型提供技术参考。     

Understanding China's renewable energy technology exports

China became a major player in renewable energy (RE) technology during the 2000s. Chinese solar PV cell and module makers quickly dominated global sales in that industry, while the country's wind turbine producers became poised for significant exports after capturing their rapidly growing home market. In countries like the US, Chinese RE technology strength has been met with claims of excessive governmental support of exports. This study examines to what extent Chinese firms' solar PV and wind technology successes have been enabled by policy supports, and whether those policies appear to have been driven by broader goals versus RE export promotion per se. The evidence suggests that governmental policy toward both wind and solar originated in a push for export-competitive Chinese companies. But the specifics differed substantially due to the particular requirements of building technological capabilities in each: export readiness necessitated substantial support for domestic installation of wind but not solar PV power. The findings also suggest that as the decade of the 2000s progressed, environmental goals played an increasing role alongside export promotion in motivating and shaping Chinese RE technology policies.     

International competitiveness of China's wind turbine manufacturing industry and implications for future development

During 2010 and 2011, China had been the largest producer of wind turbines in the world for two consecutive years. How China can transform from being the largest producer to being the strongest producer of wind turbines is currently a great concern in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue from the perspective of the international competitiveness of China's wind turbine manufacturing industry. Firstly, the paper establishes a model for evaluating the international competitiveness of wind turbine manufacturing industry, which consists of five first-level indexes and 10 second-level indexes. Then, the paper uses these indexes to evaluate the international competitiveness of six leading wind turbine companies in the world—Vestas (Denmark), Gamesa (Germany), GE Wind (the USA), Nordex (Spain), Suzlon (India) and Sinovel (China). The result shows that the international competitiveness of the Chinese wind turbine company, Sinovel, ranked the fifth, lagging behind Vestas, Gamesa, GE Wind and Suzlon. Finally, the paper makes in-depth analysis on the major factors that hamper the international competitiveness of China's wind turbine manufacturing industry and provides implications for future development of the industry.     

Wind energy development and its environmental impact: A review

Wind energy, commonly recognized to be a clean and environmentally friendly renewable energy resource that can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, has developed rapidly in recent years. Its mature technology and comparatively low cost make it promising as an important primary energy source in the future. However, there are potential environmental impacts due to the installation and operation of the wind turbines that cannot be ignored. This paper aims to provide an overview of world wind energy scenarios, the current status of wind turbine development, development trends of offshore wind farms, and the environmental and climatic impact of wind farms. The wake effect of wind turbines and modeling studies regarding this effect are also reviewed.     

Wind power in China—Opportunity goes with challenge

Climate change and limited primary energy resources require indigenous renewable electricity generation options to change the current coal-dominated power source matrix in China. The wind power is such a solution for the above challenges, and it still has large space for improvement in China. In this paper several critical factors related to Chinese wind power were studied in details, including the wind resources, the wind turbine industry and the policies from the Chinese government. Based on the study, the perspective of wind power in China was discussed. With outstanding advantages, the offshore wind power has a bright future in China, so its main characteristics are discussed. Based on the discussions, suggestions were given to improve the development of Chinese wind power, and the government's further measures are also recommended.     

Wind electric power in the world and perspectives of its development in India

The global market for wind power is expanding faster than any other source of renewable energy. From just 4,800 MW in 1995 raise to fifteen-fold to reach 73,904 MW at the end of 2006. Top five wind electric power generating countries at the end of 2006 were Germany, Spain, United States of America (USA), India and Denmark. Since 1980s, when the first commercial wind turbine was deployed, their capacity, efficiency and visual design have all improved a lot. A modern wind turbine annually produces 180 times more electricity at less than half the cost per unit (kWh) than its equivalent twenty years ago. The largest turbines being manufactured now are of rated power of 5 MW capacity and a rotor diameter of 126 m. Modern turbines are modular and quick to install, whilst wind farms vary in size from a few MW to several hundred MW. Keeping these factors in view, an attempt has been made in this paper to present current advances in wind turbine generator technology. Wind energy scenario in the world in general and in India in particular have been presented. Further the cost components of wind turbine electric generation system have been included.     

基于Matlab/Simulink的风力机性能仿真研究

随着风力发电技术的发展，变速风力发电技术成为了风力发电发展的趋势。风力机作为变速风力发电机组的重要部分，其性能影响到风力发电机组的整体性能。根据变速风力机的静态性能特点，采用Matlab／Simulink软件对其进行建模，并给变速风力发电机组风力机输入模拟变速风速进行仿真研究，给出了风力机的静态性能数据和仿真波形。结果表明：通过调节影响风力机性能的各因素，保持发电机的转速与主导风速之间特定的最优比例系数，使得风力机保持在最佳叶尖速比下运行，跟随变速风速可实现最大风能捕获；对变速风力机的静态性能研究建模方法是正确可行的。     

Decarbonising power generation in China—Is the answer blowing in the wind?

This paper examines the current situation of wind industry development, evaluates the potentials of GHG mitigation and identifies the key determinants of scaling up wind power deployment in China. China has doubled its wind capacity every year for the past 4 years, the total installed capacity reached 12 Gigawatts (GW) and surpassed the 10-GW target 2 years ahead of schedule in the national plan for renewable energy development [38], [71], [87],and would reach 100–120 GW by 2020 according to the government’s new energy plan. It may become the biggest wind power generation and wind turbines manufacturing country of the world in the next years if the abundant wind resources and enormous domestic market can be harnessed with appropriate policies and efficient technology. The recent positive move in vigorous development of wind power in China implies that the total installed capacity will far exceed the targets of the government’s 2007 renewable energy plan. However, the prosperous Chinese wind market has also revealed some worrisome signals and weakness [28], [58], such as low capacity factor and frequent outage of wind farms, inadequate grid infrastructure, long distance transmission, low quality of turbines, adverse price bidding, nepotism in wind farm developer selection process and regulatory uncertainty and policy inconsistency which all conspire to hinder effective power generation in the massively new installed wind capacities. A coherent policy framework is required for creating enabling environment for accelerating wind energy penetration and state-of-art technology deployment in the country. It is argued that institutional, financial and technical capacity will need to be cemented to exploit the huge potentials of wind resources to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity in China in the coming decades with minimised environmental implications.     

Analytical model for predicting the performance of arbitrary size and layout wind farms

A simple engineering model for predicting wind farm performance is presented, which is applicable to wind farms of arbitrary size and turbine layout. For modeling the interaction of wind farm with the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), the wind farm is represented as added roughness elements. The wind speed behind each turbine is calculated using a kinematic model, in which the friction velocity and the wind speed outside the turbine wake, constructed based on the wind farm‐ABL interaction model, are employed to estimate the wake expansion rate in the crosswind direction and the maximum wind speed that can be recovered within the turbine wake, respectively. Validation of the model is carried out by comparing the model predictions with the measurements from wind tunnel experiments and the Horns Rev wind farm. For all validation cases, satisfactory agreement is obtained between model predictions and experimental data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancing information for solar and wind energy technology deployment in Brazil

Brazil's primary energy matrix is based on more than 47% of renewables, and more than 85% of its electricity is generated by hydro power sources. Despite this large fraction of renewable energy resources, less than 0.3% of the national energy supply comes from solar or wind sources. This paper presents a diagnostic review on the penetration of the solar and wind energy technologies in Brazil. It also includes a survey of the latest government policies and incentives for renewable energies deployment by entrepreneurs, industry and commercial and residential consumers. In addition, the paper analyses how to best meet the requirements for policy support and information technology to boost the deployment of solar technology and wind energy in Brazil. This study was mostly based on results of a widely distributed survey covering key issues, and also by personal interviews carried out with key stakeholders in order to better understand the issues highlighted in the survey responses. The study pointed out some of the main obstacles to effectively promote and improve government policies and actions for investment in solar and wind energy market in Brazil.     

风电机组检修安全技术交底标准化建模实践

风电机组检修过程需具备较高的安全性和技术性,而现行的风电机组检修维护管理中安全技术交底不够全面、针对性不强且不具有过程性。为实现安全技术交底标准化和流程化,提出了基于故障树的PDCA模块化风电机组检修安全技术交底。实践结果表明,故障树分析标准化建模方法能够提升风电机组检修安全技术交底的完整性、彻底性及针对性;PDCA循环方法作为安全技术交底建模的有益补充,使检修管理系统具有更强的适应性、可用性、时效性及可扩展性。研究成果为风电机组安全生产及管理提供了新思路。     

Wind power development and policies in China

The People's Republic of China foresees a target of 30 GW for installed wind power capacity by 2010 (2008: 12 GW). This paper reports on the technical and economic potentials of wind power, the recent development, existing obstacles, and related policies in China. The barriers to further commercialization of the wind power market are important and may deter the 100 GW capacity target of the Chinese government by 2020. The paper concludes that the diffusion of wind power in China is an important element for not only reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, but also for worldwide progress of wind power technology and needed economies of scale.