China's first domestic 1.5MW unit ready to sell

China's first domestically designed and developed 1.5 MW wind turbine is ready for commercial application. A single unit is being installed in the Zhengxiang Baiqi wind farm in Inner Mongolia, being developed by Qingdao State Power Land Environment Engineering Ltd. The manufacturer, Shenyang Huachuang Wind Power Ltd, holds four patents for the turbine. It plans to deliver 60, 1.5 MW turbines in 2007 and 200 units in 2008. Apart from the bearings, most of the components and parts are supplied by domestic companies, with the machine's local content rate exceeding 85%, says the company. Huachuang is a joint venture between Shenyang University of Technology (SUT) and Qingdao State Power Land Environment Engineering. The company has about 50 engineers and workers. It owns a 40,000 square metre production base, with 23,000 square metres dedicated to manufacturing operations. SUT spent four years researching the "megawatt scale, variable speed, constant frequency wind power generation unit" under the framework of the National High-Tech R&D Program. Its first 1.5 MW model had a successful test run in July 2005. Production of the turbine will increase in accordance with market demand. In the long run, the company hopes to establish itself as an international wind company, developing, designing, manufacturing, testing and servicing various models of turbines. It also produces a 1 MW machine.