Wind power could top hydro in China, expert says

[jpak]

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-03-07T114536Z_01_PEK321474_RTRUKOC_0_US-CHINA-PARLIAMENT-ENERGY.xml&archived=False

BEIJING (Reuters) - Wind turbines may one day replace hydropower as China's second-largest source of electricity, if the country continues with a drive to boost renewable generation, a Chinese energy expert said on Tuesday.

China has the potential to install up to 100 gigawatts of wind power, equivalent to nearly one fifth of its total current generating capacity, said Wang Weicheng, an energy professor at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University.

The turbines will likely provide the country with more energy than its nuclear stations in 20 to 30 years, and may become more important than China's large collection of hydropower dams by the middle of the century, he said.

"By 2020, wind power capacity is predicted to reach 30 gigawatts," Wang told a meeting on the sidelines of China's annual parliament where he was reporting on renewable energy.

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