Chinese Wind Power Generation Up 39% YoY for January – March

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The latest official data points to a surge in Chinese wind power generation for the first three months of 2018, with leading companies in the sector expected strong profits for the mid-year reports.

Data released by China’s National Energy Administration at the end of April indicates that new grid-connected wind power capacity was 3.94 gigawatts for the first three months of 2018, for total nationwide capacity of 168 GW.

During the period from January to March China’s national wind power generation was 97.9 GWh, for a year-on-year increase of 39%, with an average wind power usage time of 592 hours, for a YoY rise of 124 hours.

Areas which saw more sizeable increases in new wind power installations during the first three months of 2018 were primarily concentrated inland, including the provinces of Qinghai, Henan, Ningxia and Jiangxi.

According to analysts improvements to wind power consumption will increase the enthusiasm of wind power operators for investment, as well as drive a sizeable increase in new wind power installations in 2018.

They also point to 2018 becoming a potential turning point for the revival of wind power in China, following the release of the draft version of the “Renewable Energy Allocation Quota Assessment Measures” (可再生能源配额制考核办法) by NEA just after the Two Sessions in March, which focus on consumption of renewable energy and place a heavy emphasis upon wind power.

Financial reports from a total of 28 listed wind power companies indicate that nine expect mid-year net profits of over 100 million yuan, with three forecasting at least a doubling of net profits.