Lack of wind experts causing bottleneck in development of Chinese market

Lack of specialised workers is a bottleneck hampering the speedy development of wind energy in China, says Shi Dinghuan of China Renewable Energy Society. Speaking at the China Wind Energy Development Strategy Forum, a two day gathering of the country's major wind players in Beijing in late September, he pointed out that for China to meet its ambitious goal of 30,000 MW of wind capacity by 2020 -- requiring the addition of around 2000 MW of new wind capacity a year -- adequate human resources are vital. China currently has a meagre supply of wind energy experts or training. North China Electric Power University offers the only wind training available, a four year program dedicated to wind energy. Launched in September, it has 30 students so far. "When those students graduate in four years, they will be easy sales on the job market," says the university's Liu Jiezhen. The wind power engineering program was approved by the education ministry last year at the strong recommendation of the National Development & Reform Commission, the body in charge of wind power development in China.