China to Boost Offshore Wind Development with New Tariffs

The Chinese Government might significantly spur offshore wind development this year with a new tariff policy for the sector.

In 2013, investments from offshore wind developers were clogged due to unclear tariff incentives, so the Government’s new policy would aim to ensure investment return for developers, the Shanghai Daily writes.

According to the latest report by Quartz+Co and MEC Intelligence, the Chinese offshore wind industry is beginning to enter into a growth phase and has recently been given a priority status.

“The Chinese Government has taken the first step towards rectifying the problem of low tariffs ranging between EUR 0.08-0.09/kWh in the first concession bidding, by trying to discover benchmark prices through direct approvals. It is expected that competitive benchmark prices will be introduced to upsurge the pace of development,” the report reads.

In 2010, the Chinese Government set a target of 30GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2020, and the country recorded 428.6MW of installed offshore wind power at the end of 2013. 

“We expect the government to announce preferential tariffs for the offshore sector soon, and this year could be the start for the offshore sector to boom,” the Shanghai Daily quotes Liu Qi, deputy general manager of Shanghai Electric Wind Energy Co. as saying.

Offshore WIND Staff, April 11, 2014; Image: Siemens