Longyuan Power boosts wind capacity in 2011 - executive
Beijing. February 23. INTERFAX-CHINA - Longyuan Electric Power Group Corp., China's largest wind power provider, boosted installed wind capacity 36 percent last year to 8,945 megawatts (MW), company president Xie Changjun, said at an industry conference in Beijing Feb. 23.
Speaking at the China Power Clean Energy Expo, Xie called for improvements in China's wind turbine manufacturing and wind farm safety standards, adding that progress in these areas should take prominence over expanding capacity.
Xie also said the domestic industry is currently overcrowded, which has resulted in over-expansion and wasted electricity from wind farms without power grid connections.
In December, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) said in a report that it plans to combat wind power waste by promoting local consumption in wind-rich regions, as well as through increased investment in long-distance transmission lines, Interfax previously reported.
Longyuan Power booked net profits of RMB 2.9 billion ($460.28 million) last year, up from RMB 2.0 billion ($320.45 million) in 2010, said Xie.
By the end of the year, Xie expects the firm to be the world's second largest wind power provider following Spain's Iberdrola Renovables.
Shares of Longyuan Power on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange closed at HKD 6.50 ($0.83) Feb. 23, down 2.69 percent.
-LYB
