Implications of the development and evolution of global wind power industry for China—An empirical analysis is based on public policy

Abstract

This paper probes into the different stages of development of public policies of the global wind power industry since the beginning of the 21st century and the impetus of such development. The Danish government introduced two energy plans which made it become a world leader in wind power; the German government launched public policies to buy-back and support the development of offshore wind power to boost the growth of its wind power industry, the booming of the wind power industry in the United States cannot be separated from its tax model and policy promotion. After a rapid development from 2000 to 2021, China’s wind power industry is stepping into the “parity era”. Combining with its national conditions, it has deployed “carbon neutral” and “carbon peaking” and other strategies. However, through analysis, this paper finds that wind energy in China has not been utilized well. For example, in 2020, China’s annual wind curtailment rate reached 16.61 billion kWh, which is equivalent to the total energy production of some countries a year. In the northwestern region of China, where this phenomenon is the most serious, the total curtailment reaches 1.95 billion kWh. Shannxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang are four provinces in the region. The amount of curtailment of these places account for 30,100 kW, 32,100 kW, 20,100 kW, 35,100 kW respectively, accounting for 10.4%, 8,6%, 3.8%, and 11.2% respectively in northwest China. At the same time, in the first half of 2021, the bidding volume of wind power in the national open market reached 32.92 GW, which equals the annual bidding volume in 2020, leading to a surge in the volume and a severe shortfall in energy subsidies. Currently, the subsidies have decreased from 0.25 yuan per kWh at the peak to 0.06 yuan per kWh, making wind power companies cash-strapped. In summary, the current Chinese wind power industry has problems such as the serious “wind curtailment” phenomenon and imperfect policies related to subsidies for renewable energy. This paper aims to provide suggestions for the development of China’s wind power industry from three aspects, namely learning policies and innovating public policies, learning technologies and suggestions to policies, under the complex context at home, and abroad and the development process of leading countries in the wind power industry.