SHANGHAI is planning to build another two large offshore wind power plants in the East China Sea before 2015.

Zheng Rongping, deputy chief engineer with the Third Harbor Engineering Co of China Communication Construction, said yesterday that the city had been the “testing ground for deep-water offshore windmills.”

The country’s first sea-wind power plant with 34 turbines, also built in the East China Sea near Donghai Bridge, started transmitting power to the national grid in July.

The new plants, on the same scale as the current one, are expected to have 100 megawatts of installed capacity when finished, Zheng said. The first two turbines should be installed by nextyear.

The cur rent plant, about 4 kilometers from the shore, can supply power to more than 200,000 city households. Each turbine, about 130 meters in height, is able to supply power to 1,000 households in one hour on average.

The new plants will be able to save about 86,000 tons of coal and reduce carbon dioxide by more than 234,700 tons every year and will have a service life of about 30 years.

Although wind power contributes less than 1 percent of the city’s current total power capacity of about 18,200 megawatts, windmills are part of the city’s efforts to make Shanghai a leader in the development of new energy sources.

Shanghai plans to build 13 wind power plants by 2020 when the capacity will be increased to 1,000 megawatts, equivalent to 5 percent of capacity. Offshore windmill farms will be the major suppliers as the land available is limited. A plant with 24 turbines is also being built in the city’s Changxing Island.

Zheng said protecting the environment was a key concern during construction.

The locations had been chosen so as not to affect migratory birds and the materials used beneath sea level will ensure there is no damage to marine life.

The city built its first four windmills in Fengxian District near Hangzhou Bay in 2003.（Zha Minjie）

（A5,Shanghai Daily,16 September 2010）