Wind power is likely to be the most promising renewable energy resource contributing to China's power generation, an official said here Wednesday.

China should boost wind power utilization, as the country is rich in wind resources and the technology for wind power generation is relatively mature, said Zhang Guobao, deputy director with the State Development and Reform Commission(SDRC),at China Power 2005 Forum held in Beijing Wednesday.

As most of wind-driven generators are imported, the price of electricity generated with wind power is higher than that produced with thermal facilities, he said.

To stimulate its use, China hopes to lower the price by developing its own technology of wind power generation, he said.

Besides, preliminary work such as surveys and assessments of wind resources is still inadequate, Zhang said.

The SDRC allocated 30 million yuan (3.7 million US dollars) in the past two years to assist provinces with wind power resources to conduct field surveys, he said.

Confronted with an increasing shortage of energy and a deteriorating environment, China is striving for an "energy-efficient" society.

The law on renewable energy resources will take effect as of 2006. China's installed power capacity based on renewable energy resources is expected to reach 10 million kw, accounting for 1.5 percent of the total. The figure is expected to reach 40 million kw by 2020 with the percentage rising to 4.3 percent.

Source: Xinhua