Typhoon damage affects Hedingshan wind farm in East China

Longyuan Electric Power's coastal 15.85 MW Hedingshan wind farm in East China's Zhejiang Province suffered heavy damage after being swept by Typhoon Saomai and winds of 67 m/s in mid August. Eight of the 28 turbines installed barely survived. These were two Dewind 600 kW units, two Nordtank 550 kW turbines, one Vestas 660 kW and three Windey 250 kW turbines. The other machines, 15 Vestas 600 kW turbines and two more Dewind 600 kW units, were either fragmented or broken into three parts, while one Vestas 660 kW and two Windey 750 kW machines were toppled. Blades suffered the most serious damage, Longyuan says. Commissioned in December 1995, the wind farm was one of the first in China. Longyuan, the biggest wind player in China, owns or operates more than 416 MW of wind capacity, over 30% of the nation's total. The company hopes to increase its wind capacity to 3000 MW by 2010 and 7000 MW by 2020.