Analysis and countermeasures of wind power curtailment in China

The year 2010 was an important turning point in China׳s wind power industry. The main contradiction in China׳s wind power development shifted to a conflict between large-scale rapid development of wind power capacity and power transmission and consumption. The present wind power curtailment restricts the sound development of China׳s wind power industry. In this study, the situation of wind power curtailment is reviewed through the data summary and analysis of more than 10 provinces, including Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, in the past five years. Within the context of China׳s overall power structure and based on the characteristics of different regions, this study analyzes the parameters affecting wind power curtailment to determine the factors affecting wind power curtailment in China, summarize the specific reasons for wind power accommodation, and discuss the methods and strategies to reasonably solve the wind power curtailment issue in different regions of China. Specific measures include strengthening the power grid construction to realize the transmission of wind power from north to east, constructing demonstration projects of wind power heating to promote local wind power accommodation in four provinces in Northwest China, and using wind power storage to minimize the difficulty of wind power curtailment. Predictions and prospects for the development of China׳s wind power industry are also presented in this paper.