Longyuan builds Tibet's first wind farm

CHINA: Construction has started on a 49.5MW high-altitude demonstration project in Tibet, the first wind farm to be build in the autonomous region.

The project will use Guodian's 1.5MW turbine

Tibet, because of harsh natural environment, and Macau are the last two Chinese regions without wind farms. Tibet's annual wind energy reserves amount to 93 billion/kWh, the seventh largest in China.

The wind farm, the first in Tibet, is located in Naqu county in northern Tibet, at 4,800 meters above sea level, according to the energy office of Tibet autonomous regional development and reform committee. 15MW scheduled to go into operation this year.

The wind farm is a key aid-Tibet construction project undertaken by Guodian Group subsidiary Longyuan. When completed, it will alleviate power short supply in the county, said Longyuan manager Liu Gen.

Guodian United Power is supplying 1.5MW UP96 turbines for the project. The wind farm's high altitude means the turbines will need to cope with low temperature, low air density, and high wind speeds.

Developing wind farms in high altitude areas, as well as in low wind speed areas, has become a priority for Chinese developers as they sit closer to power users.