Clean power in the north of ChinaThe People's Republic of China is one of the largest economic zones in the world. The country today has the highest energy consumption in the world, and energy demand has increased more than tenfold since the 1960s.
The North China Power Grid, or NCPG, in northern China mainly receives electricity from coal-fired power plants, which produce enormous amounts of CO2 emissions. To promote a climate-friendly power supply in the region, a wind farm was built in Weichang County in Hebei Province: 133 turbines generate an average of 276,382 MWh of electricity per year, which is fed into the power grid, replacing electricity from fossil sources. This saves about 337,336 tonnes of CO2 annually. It will also sustainably improve the region's air quality by reducing emissions of other pollutants associated with the operation of coal-fired power plants.
How wind energy contributes to climate actionAs the name suggests, wind turbines use the power of the wind to generate energy. During this process, a generator located inside the wind turbine converts kinetic energy into electrical energy. As energy is still mainly generated from fossil fuels in many areas around the world, clean wind energy can replace some of this fossil, high-emission energy and verifiably save CO2 emissions.
In most cases, the sustainably generated electricity from the wind power projects is fed into a regional power grid, which diversifies the power supply and improves energy security in regions that are frequently affected by power shortages and outages. A project often creates increased job opportunities for the local population and the area can be used for additional activities, such as agriculture. Wind power projects make an important contribution to a clean energy supply worldwide and contribute to sustainable development with respect to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Wind energy projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.