Huaneng International Signs Agreement to Build a 500 MW Wind Power Project in Inner Mongolia

Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, TX) reports that Huaneng International Power Development Company Limited (HIPDC) (Beijing), a subsidiary of China Huaneng Group (Beijing) and the holding company of the listed flagship Huaneng Power International Incorporation (Beijing), officially signed the agreement to build another 500-megawatt (MW) wind power project in Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia, according to the Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Inner Mongolia is rich in wind power resources and has the highest wind power capacity of all of China's provinces and regions. Based on preliminary calculations, total exploitable wind resources in the region could be as high as 150 gigawatts. Tongliao City is located in the northeast of Inner Mongolia, where it enjoys favorable conditions for the development of wind power resources. However, wind power development in the region has only recently begun.

According to the agreement reached between the HIPDC and the government of Tongliao City, the new planned wind power project is located at Naiman Banner, Tongliao City. Huaneng Power International plans to invest $740 million to build a total of 500 MW of wind turbines in the region in sequential phases. In the initial stage, the HIPDC will invest $74 million to build 50 MW of wind turbines. Construction of Phase I is expected to start in the end of 2009 and will begin operation in 2010.

Prior to the signing of the agreement, the HIPDC signed a batch of wind power projects in the Inner Mongolia Region. Together with the new project, the total planned installation capacity of China Huaneng Group has reached 1,000 MW in Tongliao City alone. As the largest power producer in China, China Huaneng Group operates 102 fully owned or holding power plants in 26 provinces, cities, and regions in China as well as overseas regions, possessing a total installed capacity of 77,168 MW.