An Anatomy of Mishaps – China's Wind Power Development

Abstract

China has in recent decades expanded its wind power generation capacity and become the world leader. Still, despite robust government support, wind power in China is obstructed by various barriers (e.g. quality deficiencies, inability to export, missing grid connections, and permit delays from central government for grid construction etc.). This paper synthesises the literature that has discovered weaknesses in the Chinese wind power development and suggests improvements. One observation is that when the Chinese government sets command-andcontrol construction targets over new installed capacity, actors delivered to target – but with several power plants without grid connectivity and severe quality problems. The article contributes to the academic debate over the role of policy making in renewable energy development and argues that China should improve their incentive structure and coordination of regulations.

Keywords: China, Wind power, Generation, Policy, Energy, Innovation

JEL Classification: O11, O21, O53, P18