Super dry! The most complete types of wind power projects

Wind power and photovoltaic power are both important forms of new energy. In recent years, the state has successively issued a series of policy documents to regulate the development of the wind power industry, which involves a variety of project types. This paper attempts to sort out the types of projects that have emerged in chronological order, in order to help industry practitioners correctly understand and grasp the types and characteristics of different wind power projects.

Phase I: before 2009

1. Micro wind turbines and small and medium-sized wind turbines, wind farms and wind fields

On December 30, 1986, the State Economic Commission issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Rural Energy Construction" (State Economic Commission [1986] No. 806) mentioned that China's rural energy construction during the "Sixth Five-Year Plan" period installed more than 16,000 small wind power generation devices, all regions and departments should actively carry out wind energy development pilots.

On July 26, 1994, the Ministry of Electric Power Industry issued the Regulations on the Administration of Grid-Connected Operation of Wind Farms (for Trial Implementation) (Dian Zheng Fa (1994) No. 461)[1], which put forward the concept of wind farms (referred to as "wind farms").

On September 19, 1994, the Ministry of Electric Power Industry issued the "Electric Power Industry Technology Policy" and the "Electric Power Industry Equipment Policy", in which the "Electric Power Industry Technical Policy" mentioned in the "Development of New and Renewable Energy Power Generation Technology" section that in areas with abundant wind resources, promote the application of wind power generation according to local conditions, focusing on solving the electricity consumption in remote areas, pastoral areas and special areas, including: (1) the promotion of 100-watt micro wind turbines and 1-10 kilowatt independent power supply wind turbines, Adapt to the needs of farmers and herdsmen in electricity. (2) The development and application of tens of kilowatts of wind/diesel combined power generation system can obtain stable electricity for production and have obvious fuel-saving effects. (3) In areas where conditions permit, there are plans to build grid-connected wind farms. In the near future, it is advisable to choose a single wind turbine with a capacity of 300~500 kilowatts, so it is necessary to introduce technology as soon as possible, mass production, and start to study larger capacityWind power equipment。

On January 5, 1995, the "Circular of the General Office of the State Development Planning Commission, the General Office of the State Science and Technology Commission, and the General Office of the State Economic and Trade Commission <新能源和可再生能源发展纲要>on Printing and Distribution" mentioned that the total installed capacity of wind power generation in China reached 26,000 kilowatts. Since the 80s, 50 to 200 watt micro wind turbines have been successfully developed and put into mass production, and more than 120,000 units are currently operating in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai and other pastoral grasslands and coastal areas without power grids, solving the problem of fishermen and herdsmen watching TV and lighting. 1-20 kW medium and small wind turbines have reached the small batch production class, 50-200 kW medium and large wind turbines are currently being developed, and 14 wind farms are under construction. It is required to strengthen and improve the planning, construction, survey and design of wind fields, and build a number of large-scale wind fields, so as to create conditions for the national wind energy development capacity to reach 30-400,000 kilowatts (35-460,000 tons of standard coal) and 100-1.1 million kilowatts (1.08 million tons of standard coal) in 2000 and 2010.

Similar to photovoltaic projects, wind power projects in the early stage of development are mainly used in areas without power grids to solve people's living electricity problems, at this time the capacity of wind turbines is relatively small, mostly 50 watts to 200 watts of micro wind turbines, 1-20 kilowatts of small and medium-sized wind turbines are only small batch production, at that time has been put into the construction of a few wind farm projects, the state at that time put forward the requirements of "building a number of large wind fields".

2. "Double Plus" project wind farm project

In order to promote the scale and industrialization of wind power generation, gradually form China's wind power generation market, and improve the competitiveness of wind power generation, the Ministry of Electric Power Industry issued the Notice on Printing and Distributing the Opinions on Promoting the Construction of Large Wind Farms and the Localization of Wind Turbines by Using the "Double Plus" Project (Dianshui Nong (1995) No. 707), which was arranged by the State Economic and Trade Commission to set up a new energy topic of the "Double Plus Project", including wind farm construction projects. At that time, it was planned that by 2000, the installed capacity of the wind farm would reach 1 million kW, and the scale production capacity would be initially formed. The notice stipulates that the total installed capacity of the "double plus" project is 120,000kW, which will be completed in three years, which is the general requirement. Under this general requirement, the construction progress of the wind farm should be arranged in accordance with the steps and batch requirements of the localization of wind turbines, and then the specific situation of the wind farm and the capital investment of both parties should be considered.

The "Double Plus" project wind farm project is a project established in a specific historical period to promote the localization process of wind turbines.

3. Power supply systems with combined operation of wind power generation and diesel power generation or solar photovoltaic power generation, and solar and wind complementary power generation systems

On 13 May 1996, the "Circular of the State Development Planning Commission, the State Economic and Trade Commission, and the State Science and Technology Commission <中国节能技术政策大纲>on Printing and Distribution" proposed that wind energy should be actively developed and utilized, and that large, medium, and small wind turbines should be developed simultaneously, that wind farms should be built in areas with abundant wind resources and close to power grids, and that power supply systems for wind power generation, diesel power generation, or solar photovoltaic power generation should be built on islands. Promote the use of high-efficiency, low-cost small and medium-sized photovoltaic power generation systems and solar and wind complementary power generation systems. Promote photovoltaic power generation and wind power generation in coastal and northwestern provinces, Inner Mongolia and other provinces and regions.

In 1996, the state put forward the idea of building a power supply system with combined operation of wind and solar firewood.

4. "Treasury Bond Wind Power" Demonstration Project

In order to make good use of the special funds of national bonds, smoothly implement the demonstration project of "national debt wind power", and further promote the development of the localization of wind power generation in China, the Department of Resource Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization of the State Economic and Trade Commission issued a notice on December 28, 2000 in the document [2000] No. 046 to issue the "National Debt Wind Power" Project Implementation Plan. The so-called "national debt wind power" project refers to the 80,000 kilowatt domestic wind turbine demonstration wind farm project constructed by using the 2000 national key technological transformation project plan (the fourth batch of national debt special fund projects), including 30,000 kilowatts of Inner Mongolia Chifeng Power Supply Company, 10,000 kilowatts of Liaoning Yingkou Power Supply Company, 10,000 kilowatts of Dalian Power Supply Company and 30,000 kilowatts of Xinjiang Wind Energy Company.

Similar to the "double plus" project wind farm project, the "national debt wind power" project is also a project set up for the promotion and application of domestic wind turbines.

5. Large-scale grid-connected wind power generation, independent power supply system for diesel storage, and large-scale wind farm demonstration projects

The "Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development Energy Development Key Special Plan" (issued by the State Development Planning Commission on May 26, 2001, Ji [2001] No. 711) pointed out that the development of new energy should be regarded as a long-term strategy for the sustainable development of the energy industry, and large-scale grid-connected wind power generation, solar thermal utilization, and solar photovoltaic power generation should be developed in areas with good resource conditions and grid-connected conditions. We will continue to speed up the process of commercialization of rural energy, and vigorously promote solar photovoltaic power generation, independent power supply systems for firewood storage, biomass energy conversion, geothermal, small hydropower, and charcoal forests in areas with sufficient resources, especially in remote areas. It mainly arranges the construction of wind farms in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Jilin, Liaoning, Hubei and Guangdong, with a construction scale of about 500,000 kilowatts. Select large-scale wind farms with suitable conditions, implement international bidding, and build large-scale wind farm demonstration projects.

The document proposes to develop large-scale grid-connected wind power generation in areas with good resource conditions and grid-connected conditions, and select large-scale wind fields with suitable conditions to build large-scale wind farm demonstration projects, both of which are grid-connected wind power projects, while the independent power supply system of diesel storage belongs to independent/off-grid wind power projects, and the difference between the two is described below.

On October 10, 2001, the State Economic and Trade Commission issued the "Tenth Five-Year Plan for the Development of New and Renewable Energy Industry" (Guo Jing Mao Resources [2001] No. 1020), which mentioned that during the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" period, China's large-scale grid-connected wind power generation developed rapidly, with an average annual growth rate of about 50%; By the end of 2000, a total of 26 wind farms had been built, forming a power generation capacity of 340,000 kilowatts, which brought China's wind power generation to a new level; More than 190,000 small wind turbines have been installed and used across the country, which has played an important role in solving the problem of electricity consumption for farmers and herdsmen in areas without electricity in the western region. In terms of development priorities, it is necessary to improve the production technology level of off-grid wind turbines below 10 kilowatts, and promote wind/solar complementation, wind/diesel complementation, and wind/solar/diesel combined power supply systems.

6. Wind power concession projects

On September 30, 2003, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) promulgated the Administrative Measures for the Preliminary Work of Wind Power Concession Projects (Fagai Energy [2003] No. 1403)[2], which stipulates the relevant contents of the preliminary work of wind power concession projects. According to the Measures, wind power concession projects refer to wind power projects that need to be constructed by selecting investors through public bidding. The preliminary work expenses of wind power concession projects shall be jointly borne by the state and all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), and the results of the preliminary work shall be owned by the government。

Subsequently, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) convened the National Preliminary Work Conference on the Construction of Large Wind Farms in Beijing from October 21 to 22, 2003, and the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission issued the Minutes of the National Preliminary Work Conference on the Construction of Large Wind Farms (Fa Gai Ban Energy [2003] No. 1287) on November 29, 2003, to arrange the preliminary work of the construction of large wind farms at that time. According to the minutes, the construction of large-scale wind farms in the near future shall be carried out in the form of concessions, and for wind farms where there are units carrying out preliminary work such as wind measurement, the unit may continue to complete the pre-feasibility study of the wind farm according to the requirements of the pre-feasibility study of the wind power concession project, and after the experience is qualified, the construction shall be carried out as a wind power concession project through bidding to determine the investor; For large-scale wind farms that have not yet carried out preliminary work, the preliminary work unit can be selected through bidding, and the preliminary work unit shall carry out the pre-feasibility study of the wind farm according to the requirements of the pre-feasibility study of the wind power concession project.

7. Off-grid wind power generation and grid-connected wind power generation

On November 29, 2005, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued the Notice on Printing <可再生能源产业发展指导目录>and Distributing (NDRC (2005) No. 2517), which explained the types of wind power generation, among which off-grid wind power generation is used to supply electricity to residents that cannot be covered by the power grid, including independent household systems and centralized village power stations. Grid-connected wind power generation is used to supply power to the grid, including onshore and offshore grid-connected wind power, which can be connected to the grid by a single unit or a wind farm built by multiple units to generate electricity on the grid.

Off-grid wind power generation is similar to off-grid solar photovoltaic power generation, including independent household systems and centralized village power stations. Grid-connected wind power is different from grid-connected solar PV in that it includes offshore grid-connected wind power in addition to onshore construction, and although it was still in the research and development stage at the time, it predates the development of offshore PV many years ago.

8. Grid-connected wind farms and small-scale independently operated wind turbines

On June 3, 2007, the Notice of the State Council on Printing and Distributing China's National Plan for Climate Change (Guo Fa (2007) No. 17)[3] mentioned in the section "China's Efforts and Achievements in Mitigating Climate Change" that by the end of 2005, more than 60 grid-connected wind farms had been built, with a total installed capacity of 1.26 million kilowatts, and about 200,000 small independently operated wind turbines with a total capacity of about 40,000 kilowatts in remote areas.

9. Wind power bases and offshore wind power pilot projects

The "Medium and Long-term Development Plan for Renewable Energy" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission on August 31, 2007 mentions in the development status section that wind power includes off-grid operation of small wind turbines and large grid-connected wind turbines, and the technology has been basically mature, and puts forward the main development goals and construction priorities of wind power as follows: (1) By 2010, the total installed capacity of wind power in China will reach 5 million kilowatts. Focusing on the eastern coastal areas and the "Three Norths" region, we will build about 30 large-scale wind power projects of 100,000 kilowatts, and form three wind power bases of 1 million kilowatts in Jiangsu, Hebei and Inner Mongolia. 1~2 100,000 kW offshore wind power pilot projects have been built. (2) By 2020, the total installed capacity of wind power in China will reach 30 million kilowatts. In Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Jilin and other regions with large-scale development conditions, we will carry out centralized and contiguous development, and build a number of major wind power provinces with a total installed capacity of more than 2 million kilowatts. Six megawatt large-scale wind power bases, including Dabancheng in Xinjiang, Yumen in Gansu, coastal areas in Jiangsu and Shanghai, Huiteng Xile in Inner Mongolia, Zhangbei in Hebei Province and Baicheng in Jilin Province, have been built, and 1 million kilowatts of offshore wind power have been built.

10. Small wind power

China's Energy Situation and Policy issued by the Information Office of the State Council on December 1, 2007 proposes to actively promote the utilization of wind power, biomass energy and solar power generation technologies, and to build a number of million-kilowatt wind power bases to promote industrialization on a large scale. Continue to promote the application of small-scale rural energy facilities such as firewood-saving stoves, small wind power, and micro-hydropower.

On March 3, 2008, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice on Printing and Distributing the Eleventh Five-Year Plan for the Development of Renewable Energy" (Fagai Energy [2008] No. 610), which mentioned in the development status that the development of "power to the township" and solve the problem of electricity in the life of the population without electricity as an opportunity to develop solar photovoltaic power generation and small wind power, and promote the development of decentralized renewable energy power generation technology. In order to accelerate the large-scale development of wind power, the state adopts concession bidding to promote the construction of large-scale wind power projects, and promotes the localized production of wind power equipment and independent innovation of wind power technology. By the end of 2005, more than 60 grid-connected wind farms had been built across the country, with a total installed capacity of 1.26 million kilowatts, laying the foundation for the large-scale development of wind power. In addition, there are about 250,000 small, independently operating wind turbines in remote areas, with a total capacity of about 50,000 kilowatts.

Both documents mention the concept of "small wind power", but do not provide a specific definition. Combined with the content of the document, "small wind power" is about equal to small independent wind turbines.

Phase II: 2009 to 2016

1. Onshore wind power projects and offshore wind power projects

On July 20, 2009, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued the Notice on Improving the Feed-in Tariff Policy for Wind Power Generation (Fagai Price [2009] No. 1906), which proposed the concept of onshore wind power projects and offshore wind power projects, and formulated benchmark feed-in tariffs for onshore wind power by resource area.

On 22 January 2010, the National Energy Administration (NEA) and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) jointly issued the Interim Measures for the Administration of Offshore Wind Power Development and Construction (Guoneng Xinneng [2010] No. 29)[4], which provides a definition of offshore wind power projects. Article 2 of the Measures stipulates that offshore wind power projects refer to wind power projects in coastal waters below the multi-year average high tide high tide line, including wind power projects on uninhabited islands in the corresponding development sea areas.

2. Decentralized access to wind power and distributed wind power

On July 12, 2011, the National Energy Administration issued the Notice on the Development of Distributed Access to Wind Power (Guoneng Xinneng [2011] No. 226), proposing to "learn from international advanced experience, while developing large-scale and concentrated wind farms on a large scale, actively and steadily explore the development mode of distributed access to wind power according to local conditions", and stipulate the main ideas and boundary conditions for the development of distributed access wind power. This document is the first time that the concept of "decentralized access to wind power" has been proposed, but it has not been defined.

On November 17 of the same year, the National Energy Administration issued the Guiding Opinions on the Development and Construction of Distributed Access Wind Power Projects (Guoneng Xinneng [2011] No. 374)[5], which provides a definition of distributed access to wind power. Guoneng Xinneng [2011] No. 374 stipulates that a distributed access wind power project refers to a wind power project located near the power load center and not for the purpose of large-scale long-distance power transmission, and the electricity generated is connected to the nearest power grid and consumed locally. It can be seen that the early "distributed access wind power projects" did not include "small independent wind turbines", but only referred to some projects connected to the grid.

Subsequently, the Interim Administrative Measures for the Development and Construction of Distributed Wind Power Projects (Guoneng Fa Xinneng [2018] No. 30) issued by the National Energy Administration on 3 April 2018 adopted the concept of "distributed wind power projects" (the word "access" was deleted compared with "decentralized access wind power projects"). According to Article 2 of the Measures, a distributed wind power project refers to a wind power project in which the generated electricity can be used for its own use, can also be connected to the grid, and is balanced and regulated in the distribution system. It can be seen that "distributed wind power projects" include both off-grid projects and grid-connected projects.

3. Large-scale modern wind power base

On June 7, 2014, the General Office of the State Council issued the Notice on Printing <能源发展战略行动计划（2014-2020年）>and Distributing (Guo Ban Fa [2014] No. 31), requiring the vigorous development of wind power. It will focus on the planning and construction of 9 large-scale modern wind power bases and supporting transmission projects in Jiuquan, western Inner Mongolia, eastern Inner Mongolia, northern Hebei, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shandong, Hami and Jiangsu. Focusing on the southern and central and eastern regions, we will vigorously develop distributed wind power and steadily develop offshore wind power. By 2020, the installed capacity of wind power will reach 200 million kilowatts, and the feed-in tariff of wind power and coal power will be comparable.

4. Centralized wind power

On July 6, 2015, the "National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration on promoting the development of smart grid guidance" (Fa Gai Run (2015) No. 1518) issued and implemented, the document proposed to "encourage centralized wind farms, photovoltaic power stations to configure a certain proportion of energy storage systems".

The Guiding Opinions of the National Energy Administration on the Implementation of the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Renewable Energy (Guoneng Fa Xinneng [2017] No. 31) stipulates that "the determination and allocation of the annual scale of centralized wind power and photovoltaic power generation shall be premised on the commitment of provincial power grid enterprises to invest in the construction of power transmission projects and the opinions on the power system absorption capacity issued by provincial power grid enterprises".

The concept of "centralized wind power" appears in the above two documents, and combined with the understanding of previous policy documents, "centralized wind power" here should correspond to "decentralized wind power".

5. Distributed wind power

On November 26, 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued Annex 4 of the "Notice on Printing and Distributing Supporting Documents for the Reform of the Electric Power System" (Fa Gai Jing Ti [2015] No. 2752) "Implementation Opinions on the Orderly Development and Consumption Plan" mentioned that users with distributed wind power and solar power generation are guaranteed by full purchase by power supply enterprises and do not participate in market competition at present. This is the first time that the concept of "distributed wind power" has been officially proposed, but its relationship with "distributed wind power" has not been pointed out. Although the reference to "distributed wind power" was later reinstated in official documents, the term "distributed wind power" is also mentioned in the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating Rural Energy Transformation and Development to Help Rural Revitalization" (National Energy Development Planning [2021] No. 66) jointly issued by the National Energy Administration, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Rural Revitalization Administration on December 29, 2021, and the "Guiding Opinions on Energy Work in 2022" (National Energy Development Planning [2022] No. 31) issued by the National Energy Administration on March 17, 2022.

The National Energy Development Plan [2021] No. 66 proposes to adopt the model of "company + village + farmer", use the idle land and the roof of the farmhouse of the farmer, build distributed wind power and photovoltaic power generation, configure a certain proportion of energy storage, self-consumption, local consumption, surplus electricity grid, and farmers obtain stable rent or electricity income. The National Energy Development Plan [2022] No. 31 proposes to make full use of the land and rooftop resources of oil and gas mining areas, industrial and mining areas, and industrial parks to develop distributed wind power and photovoltaics.

According to the authors, the term distributed wind power emphasizes more on the site characteristics of the project, while distributed wind power focuses on defining the project from the perspective of project access and consumption, and the scope of the two is almost the same in practice. As for the connection and difference between the two, it is to be further clarified in official documents.

6. Demonstration projects such as coastal wind power, offshore wind power, new energy power generation bases, wind power heating, hydrogen production, etc

On March 22, 2016, the National Energy Administration (NEA) issued the Notice on Printing <2016年能源工作指导意见>and Distributing (National Energy Planning (2016) No. 89), which proposed to reduce the total coal consumption in key areas in the eastern region, and focus on the development and utilization of nuclear power, coastal wind power, solar energy, and offshore oil and gas. Carry out the construction of demonstration projects such as wind power heating and hydrogen production. Steady development of wind power. Promote the healthy development of wind power in the "Three Norths" region, and encourage the accelerated development of wind power in the eastern, central and southern regions。 Promote the planning and construction of the third phase of new energy power generation bases in Zhundong, Ximeng, Jinbei and Zhangjiakou, and increase the proportion of new energy power generation and power transmission. Study and solve the technical bottlenecks and institutional obstacles restricting the development of offshore wind power, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of offshore wind power。

In addition to the types of wind power projects mentioned in previous documents, National Energy Planning (2016) No. 89 also proposes to "carry out the construction of demonstration projects such as wind power heating and hydrogen production", expanding the application scenarios of wind power projects.

7. Wind, solar, water, fire, storage and multi-energy complementary projects

On December 10, 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "13th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development" (Fagai Energy [2016] No. 2619), which proposes to give full play to the regulation capacity of renewable energy such as hydropower and solar thermal, and promote the multi-energy complementarity and joint transmission of renewable energy such as hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic and solar thermal. On December 26 of the same year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "13th Five-Year Plan for Energy Development" (Fagai Energy [2016] No. 2744), which proposed to use the advantages of wind, solar, hydro, coal, natural gas and other resources of large-scale comprehensive energy bases to promote the construction and operation of wind, solar, water, fire and storage multi-energy complementary projects. The first batch of multi-energy complementary integrated optimization demonstration projects announced by the National Energy Administration on announcing the first batch of multi-energy complementary integrated optimization demonstration projects (National Energy Planning [2017] No. 37) includes 6 demonstration projects for the integration and optimization of wind, solar, water, fire, and storage.

8. Offshore wind power and intertidal wind power

On December 26, 2016, the Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Adjusting the Benchmark Feed-in Tariff for Photovoltaic Power Generation Onshore Wind Power (Fagai Price (2016) No. 2729) was issued, in which the feed-in tariff for offshore wind power projects that are not tendered is divided into two types: offshore wind power and intertidal wind power, and for the first time, offshore wind power projects are divided into two types: offshore wind power and intertidal wind power.

9. Deep-sea wind power

The 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Marine Renewable Energy (Guo Hai Fa [2016] No. 26) issued by the State Oceanic Administration on December 30, 2016 proposes to develop deep-sea floating wind turbines, explore the comprehensive utilization of offshore wind power, wave energy, tidal energy, etc., and master key technologies such as the design, construction, operation and maintenance of long-distance deep-water large-scale offshore wind farms, so as to promote the development of deep-sea wind power.

Phase 3: 2017 to present

1. Wind power grid parity demonstration project

On May 17, 2017, the Notice of the Comprehensive Department of the National Energy Administration on Carrying out the Demonstration Work of Wind Power Parity was issued, which was the first time to carry out the demonstration work of wind power parity on a national scale. According to the notice, the feed-in tariff of the demonstration project shall be implemented according to the local benchmark feed-in tariff for coal-fired power, and no green electricity certificate will be issued for the relevant power generation。

2. Pilot projects for grid parity and low-cost access

On January 7, 2019, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) issued the Notice on Actively Promoting the Work of Wind Power and Photovoltaic Power Generation on Unsubsidized Grid Parity (Fagai Energy [2019] No. 19), which requires the construction of grid parity projects and low-cost grid pilot projects. All regions should conscientiously summarize the experience of wind power and photovoltaic power generation development and construction in their own regions, and promote the construction of pilot projects for wind power and photovoltaic power generation parity that do not require state subsidies to implement coal-fired benchmark feed-in tariffs in combination with resources, consumption and new technology applications。 In areas with excellent resource conditions and high market consumption conditions, guide the construction of a number of low-cost feed-in pilot projects with feed-in tariffs lower than the benchmark feed-in tariffs for coal-fired fire。

3. Centralized wind power projects, distributed wind power, and offshore wind power projects

On May 28, 2019, the National Energy Administration issued the Notice on Matters Related to the Construction of Wind Power and Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects in 2019 (Guoneng Fa Xinneng [2019] No. 49), requiring actively promoting the construction of grid-parity projects and strictly regulating the competitive allocation of subsidy projects. Annex 1 of the document, "2019 Work Plan for the Construction of Wind Power Projects", proposes to improve the competitive allocation mechanism of centralized wind power projects, adopt a variety of ways to support the construction of decentralized wind power, and promote the construction of offshore wind power projects in an orderly and steady manner.

4. Guaranteed grid-connected projects and market-oriented grid-connected projects

On May 11, 2021, the National Energy Administration issued the Notice on Matters Concerning the Development and Construction of Wind Power and Photovoltaic Power Generation in 2021 (Guoneng Fa Xinneng [2021] No. 25), requiring the establishment of multiple guarantee mechanisms for grid connection such as guaranteed grid connection and market-oriented grid connection, and for the first time put forward the concept of guaranteed grid-connected projects and market-oriented grid-connected projects. Among them, the new grid-connected projects necessary for the completion of the annual non-hydropower minimum consumption responsibility weight in all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) shall be implemented by the power grid enterprises, and the guaranteed grid-connected projects shall be organized by the provincial-level energy authorities through competitive allocation; For projects that are still willing to be connected to the grid outside the scope of guaranteed grid connection, the grid enterprises will be connected to the grid after the grid-connected conditions can be implemented through market-oriented methods such as self-construction, joint construction and sharing, or purchase of services, and the grid-connected conditions mainly include supporting the new pumped storage, thermal storage solar thermal power generation, thermal power peak shaving, new energy storage, adjustable load and other flexible adjustment capabilities.

5. Large-scale wind power base projects

On October 21, 2021, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development" (Fagai Energy [2021] No. 1445) jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and other 9 ministries and commissions proposed to adhere to ecological priority, adapt measures to local conditions, and diversified and integrated development, optimize and promote the large-scale development of wind power and photovoltaic power generation bases in the "Three Norths" region, promote the comprehensive development of water, wind and solar power in the southwest region, and focus on promoting the local and nearby development of wind power and photovoltaic power generation in the southern Middle East. In the eastern coastal areas, we will actively promote the cluster development of offshore wind power. Among them, in terms of vigorously promoting the development of wind power and photovoltaic power generation bases, it is necessary to promote the construction of onshore wind power and photovoltaic power generation bases as a whole, accelerate the promotion of large-scale wind power and solar power generation bases focusing on deserts, Gobi and desert areas, and promote the construction of offshore wind power bases in an orderly manner.

On January 30, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) issued the Opinions on Improving the Institutional Mechanisms and Policy Measures for Green and Low-Carbon Energy Transformation (Fagai Energy [2022] No. 206), proposing to accelerate the construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic power generation bases with a focus on deserts, Gobi and desert areas. The Notice on Printing and Distribution (<2022年能源工作指导意见>National Energy Development Planning [2022] No. 31) issued by the National Energy Administration on March 17, 2022 proposes to vigorously develop wind power and photovoltaics, and intensify efforts to plan and build a new energy supply and consumption system based on large-scale wind and solar bases, supported by clean, efficient, advanced and energy-saving coal-fired power in its surroundings, and supported by stable, safe and reliable UHV transmission and transformation lines.

In addition, the Notice on Printing and Distributing a Package of Policy Measures to Stabilize the Economy (Guo Fa [2022] No. 12) issued by the State Council on May 24, 2022 also requires accelerating the construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases focusing on deserts, Gobi and desert areas, and the second batch of projects will be launched in the near future.

On July 27, 2022, Li Chuangjun, Director of the Department of New and Renewable Energy of the National Energy Administration, said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on "Accelerating the Construction of an Energy Power and Making Every Effort to Ensure Energy Security" that the construction of large-scale wind and photovoltaic bases in deserts, Gobi and desert areas is an important measure to implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions, support the realization of the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality as scheduled, promote clean and low-carbon energy transformation, improve energy security and supply capacity, and expand investment and steady growth. The National Energy Administration has conscientiously implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and instructions, and regarded the construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases focusing on deserts, Gobi and desert areas as the top priority of new energy development in the 14th Five-Year Plan.

As of the time of writing, the first batch of base projects has started construction, the list of the second batch of base projects has been issued, and the declaration of the third batch of base projects has been launched one after another. It is foreseeable that large-scale wind power base projects will become the highlight of the development of wind power projects during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Summary

Looking at the evolution of wind power project types, it can be seen that although the types of wind power projects are not as diverse as photovoltaic projects (see the article "Photovoltaic Project Types Review" for details), there are also many different categories. According to different classification criteria, wind power projects can be divided into the following categories:

1. From the perspective of installation location, it can be divided into two categories: onshore wind power projects and offshore wind power projects, of which onshore wind power projects can be divided into centralized wind power projects and distributed wind power projects according to different access and consumption methods, and offshore wind power projects can be divided into offshore wind power projects and intertidal wind power projects according to different installation locations;

2. From the perspective of whether or not to enjoy state subsidies, it can be divided into grid parity projects, low-cost grid projects and projects that need state subsidies, and with the advent of the era of grid parity, the number and scale of projects that need state subsidies will gradually be fixed;

3. From whether it is connected to the public power grid, it can be divided into independent/off-grid wind power projects and grid-connected wind power projects, among which independent/off-grid wind power projects mainly appeared to solve the problem of electricity consumption in areas without electricity at the beginning, and now grid-connected wind power projects have occupied the mainstream of the industry;

4. According to the different conditions of grid connection, it can be divided into guaranteed grid-connected projects and market-oriented grid-connected projects;

5. From the perspective of whether there is mutual complementarity with other energy forms, it can be divided into single wind power projects and multi-energy complementary photovoltaic projects (such as wind and solar complementary projects, source-grid-load-storage integration projects, etc.).

In addition, the state has successively launched special projects such as "double plus" project wind farm projects, "national debt wind power" demonstration projects, and large-scale wind power bases in different historical periods, all of which are specific applications of centralized wind power projects and offshore wind power projects.

Looking ahead, with the continuous development and progress of technology, some new types of wind power projects, such as high-altitude wind power [6], are expected to be commercialized, and it is expected that wind power projects can play an important role in the realization of the national "3060" dual carbon goal.