The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration encourage the renovation and upgrading of wind farms with more than 15 years of grid operation or individual unit capacity less than 1.5 megawatts; industry insiders say that wind farms meeting the above conditions have a scale of about 10GW, and will enter a peak of wind turbine decommissioning starting from 2025.
On August 21, Cailian Press (Reporter Xiaolianghua) the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Comprehensive Department of the National Energy Administration issued the "Implementation Plan for Large-Scale Equipment Renewal in Key Energy Areas", which encourages the renovation and upgrading of wind farms with more than 15 years of grid operation or individual unit capacity less than 1.5 megawatts in accordance with the requirements of the "Management Measures for the Renovation, Upgrading and Decommissioning of Wind Farms".
"Starting from 2023, China's wind power will enter a large-scale development stage. However, the initial installed capacity is very small. Roughly calculated, wind farms meeting the above two conditions have a scale of about 10GW (1000 megawatts)." Li Caiqiu, an observer in the wind power industry, told Cailian Press that the early development of wind power technology is not sufficient, the installed capacity of individual units is small, and the efficiency of power generation decreases rapidly after long-term operation. Replacing old with new and replacing large with small can improve efficiency.
Qin Haiyan, Secretary-General of the Wind Energy Professional Committee of the Chinese Renewable Energy Society, also said that the total scale of wind turbines meeting the conditions is about 0.1 billion kilowatts (1000 megawatts).
The two departments stated that they encourage the replacement of small-capacity wind turbines with large-capacity mainstream models in the industry that are technologically advanced. They support the application of green and low-carbon materials, new high-tower technology, space-saving technology, high-efficiency and intelligent wind turbines, improve the power generation per unit area of land, and cultivate and strengthen new forms of wind power industry recycling.
The wave of wind turbine decommissioning is expected to occur in the next few years. According to data from the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA), based on the estimated 20-year lifespan of onshore wind turbines, it is expected that the first wave of wind turbine decommissioning peak will occur between 2025 and 2030. The number of wind turbines decommissioned in 2025 will increase from the current 0.1 million kilowatts to 0.5 million kilowatts, and by 2030, more than 0.03 million units will reach the decommissioning age limit, with a decommissioned installed capacity of 44.73 million kilowatts.
In addition, in August of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Recycling of Decommissioned Wind and Photovoltaic Equipment" (referred to as the "Opinions"). It proposes that by 2025, the responsibility mechanism for handling decommissioned wind and photovoltaic equipment in centralized wind farms and solar power plants will be basically established, and the relevant standards and norms for the recycling of decommissioned wind and photovoltaic equipment will be further improved, and key technologies for resource recycling will achieve breakthroughs.