Wind to power Beijing Olympics

2007-07-24 11:17

Beijing - Beijing has started work on a 580 million yuan ($76.69m) project to build 33 windmills to supply clean energy in time for the 2008 Olympic Games, state media said on Tuesday.

The new power plants, which would sit on the outskirts of Beijing, were expected to produce an estimated 100 million kwh of electricity a year and help reduce the city's reliance on polluting coal-fired generators, the China Daily said.

"Beijing has never had any large windmills before, much less wind-power stations," it quoted an official as saying.

"Wind power could arouse people's awareness of energy conservation and environment protection," the official added.

The project, which the paper said was the 10th largest in the world, would also cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 10 million tonnes per year, it said.

The Chinese Olympic Committee wanted at least 20% of the Olympic venues to be powered by wind-generated electricity, the report added.

The government was considering subsidies to encourage people to use wind power, which would cost 0.3 yuan per kwh more than getting electricity from a coal-fired plant, it said.

"China has the greatest wind power reserves in the world, but the high cost and China's reliance on imports of equipment has slowed down the development of wind power," an energy official was quoted as saying.

- Reuters