Wind power sector takes off in Rudong

Rudong county – administered by Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province – is said to have a booming green electricity generating system, including a flourishing wind power sector, which is expected to get bigger and bigger.

The bright prospects come in the wake of Rudong's full-scale development of a comprehensive green energy industry supply chain – which it began in 2004, when China's first wind power project landed in the region.

In the first quarter of this year, the on-grid electricity generated by wind power plants in Rudong reached 2.76 billion kilowatt-hours, surpassing the county's total social electricity consumption of up to 932 million kWh.

Since January, Rudong has only used green electricity for three consecutive months to meet its energy demand.

The prosperous green energy industry in the county has also attracted some major projects, such as China General Nuclear Power Corporation's offshore wind power plant, east of Rudong's Yangkou Port.

"Last year, 11 offshore wind farms were built and put into operation in our county, with a new installed capacity of 3 million kWh. The on-grid electricity in the first quarter soared by 79 percent year-on-year," said an official from the Rudong county development and reform commission.

According to Chen Huiyu, the county's Party secretary, wind power is inexhaustible and Rudong is committed to developing more offshore wind energy resources.