China's island province of Hainan plans to set up a floating wind farm with an installed capacity of 20 megawatts in the South China Sea next year, the Haikou municipal government reported on its Web site, citing local media.
Establishing a floating wind farm would put China at the forefront of developing a technology that experts say has significant potential for boosting renewable energy use globally and slowing the impact of climate change.
Floating wind farms are attractive because they can be installed at sites with greater water depths than offshore turbines, which are fixed to the seabed. They are also less unsightly than turbines located onshore or close to the coastline and can generate more power due to strong and stable wind conditions.
Last year, Norway's Norsk Hydro ASA (NHY.OS) and the power generation unit of German engineering conglomerate Siemens AG (SI) signed an agreement to cooperate on technology to develop floating wind turbines and set up a demonstration turbine in the North Sea.
According to the report on the Haikou government's Web site, Hainan wants to have floating wind turbines with a combined installed generating capacity of 1,000 MW in place by 2015, but didn't say where it would source the machines.
The province is also targeting increases in solar power.
China is aiming to increase the use of renewable energy to 15% of its primary energy mix by 2020 - from 7.7% in 2005 - with an initial milestone of 10% targeted in 2010.
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