Wind power in China

Interesting Science article on the potential of wind in China, showing that there exist vast wind resources accessible at reasonable costs:

"China is the world's largest carbon dioxide producer and the world's second-largest producer of electrical power, 80% of which it generates by burning coal. Still, demand for electricity in China continues to increase at an annual rate of ~10%. An affordable, carbon-free source of electrical power generation would thus constitute an important way for China to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and other environmental impacts of fossil fuels. In a Report 11 Sep 2009 Science, McElroy et al. estimated the potential for wind-generated electricity in China subject to the existing financial conditions and government-approved bidding process for new wind farms. The team used a compilation of global meteorological data analyzed with a state-of-the-art weather/climate model. Their analysis shows that although it would require a substantial financial investment up front, there is enough wind to generate electricity to supply the nation's entire projected demand for 2030 (about twice what is used now) at reasonable prices per kilowatt-hour."