China Energy Storage Network On January 28, 2015, the National Energy Administration officially issued the "Notice on Submitting Projects for the Fifth Batch of Wind Power Project Approval Plans during the 12th Five-Year Plan," marking the second batch of such initiatives. This round involves regions including Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. It’s clear that this batch covers both major wind power base provinces—such as Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Gansu, and Xinjiang—that already boast multi-gigawatt-scale wind energy capacities, as well as key provinces like Shanxi and Yunnan, which have experienced rapid growth in wind energy development over recent years. These areas are all critical hubs driving China’s wind power expansion. However, as large-scale wind projects continue to proliferate across these regions, several pressing challenges have emerged, including delayed grid integration, uncoordinated construction, wind curtailment due to limited transmission capacity, environmental constraints, and insufficient subsidy support. In response to these issues—and recognizing the current state of wind energy development and the need for sustained, healthy industry growth—the National Energy Administration has carefully planned and strategically arranged the 2015 wind power project development and construction layout in these priority areas, with the following specific requirements:

　 　Hebei Province

　　We need to accelerate the construction of Phase II of the Chengde Wind Power Base, while simultaneously initiating planning work for Phase III of the Zhangjiakou Wind Power Base, as directed by the National Energy Administration. In the aforementioned regions (excluding Yuxian County in Zhangjiakou), wind power projects should be strategically coordinated with plans for grid integration and power consumption—no longer allowing the development of new, scattered wind energy projects. Additionally, wind power projects for 2015 should be strategically located in Qinhuangdao, Langfang, Tangshan, and within the Hebei South Grid area (including Yuxian County).

　　Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

　　We need to promptly initiate the planning work for the Ximeng Wind Power Base, in line with the deployment guidelines from the National Energy Administration. The 2015 wind power projects should be strategically located within the regions of Baotou, Alxa League, and Chifeng City, with the total project scale capped at a level that ensures no increase in local wind curtailment rates. Meanwhile, distributed-access wind power projects—whose owners have already been identified—will be submitted separately this time, and must adhere strictly to the standards for distributed-access wind energy systems. As for wind-powered clean heating projects, they will be uniformly organized for research and deployment in the near future, according to the National Energy Administration’s schedule; therefore, these projects are not included in this round of reporting.

　　Liaoning Province

　　The conditions for accommodating wind power generation should be rigorously assessed. While maintaining the current curtailment rate of wind energy, close coordination and communication with local grid operators are essential to ensure that project construction does not disrupt the grid integration and operation of existing wind farms.

　　Jilin Province

　　Wind power accommodation conditions should be rigorously assessed. Outside Baicheng and Songyuan, a limited number of wind power projects should be appropriately planned—on the principle of not increasing local wind curtailment rates—and close coordination and communication with local grid companies are essential to ensure that these new projects do not disrupt the grid integration and operation of existing wind farms. Meanwhile, wind-powered clean heating projects, as per the National Energy Administration's recent work schedule, will be uniformly organized for study and deployment in the near term; therefore, they are not included in this round of reporting.

　　Heilongjiang Province

　　The wind power development in the eastern region is relatively concentrated, yet it faces a significant issue with wind curtailment and power restrictions. Therefore, this project should be strategically located in Daqing, Qiqihar, Harbin, Mudanjiang, and Jixi cities in the western region—while adhering to the principle of not increasing local wind curtailment rates. Close coordination with local grid companies is essential to ensure that the project’s construction does not disrupt the grid integration and operation of existing wind energy projects. As per the National Energy Administration's recent work plan, the wind-powered clean heating project will soon be uniformly organized for research and deployment; hence, it is not included in this round of reporting.

　　Shanxi Province

　　We need to comprehensively assess the current status and resource conditions of wind power development in the Xinzhou, Shuozhou, and Datong regions, and promptly initiate an overall planning initiative for wind energy development in northern Shanxi. This plan will leverage the ultra-high-voltage transmission channels in northern Shanxi to optimize the regional power distribution, while discontinuing the establishment of new, scattered wind projects. Instead, 2015 wind power projects should be strategically located in areas outside the aforementioned regions.

　　Sichuan Province

　　Based on the coordinated deployment and planned construction schedule of the Liangshan Prefecture wind power base, wind energy projects within the base should be reported accordingly. Wind energy projects in other regions must also be submitted as outlined in this notice.

　 　Ningxia Autonomous Region

　　We need to strengthen integrated planning and accelerate the development of the Ningxia wind power base plan. This will involve fully leveraging the Ningdong-Shandong and Ningdong-Zhejiang ultra-high-voltage transmission channels to coordinate the delivery of wind power alongside thermal power, while refraining from launching new, scattered wind energy projects this time.

　　Gansu Province

　　According to the deployment by the National Energy Administration, we must expedite the implementation of planning work for the Jiuquan New Energy Base. In 2015, wind power projects should be strategically located in regions outside Jiuquan, Jiayuguan, Wuwei, and Jinchang. Notably, the two million-kilowatt wind power base projects in Tongwei and Songshan Tan will be jointly submitted by the Gansu Provincial Development and Reform Commission, following the construction timeline outlined in the approved plan.

　　Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps

　　We need to accelerate the construction of the Baili Wind Farm Base as outlined by the National Energy Administration, and promptly initiate planning studies for the wind energy base in the Jundong region. Given the current severe power curtailment situation in Xinjiang, no new standalone wind farm projects will be approved this time. Instead, the Development and Reform Commissions of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps are tasked with submitting wind energy projects slated for inclusion in the 2015 base construction plan, following the planned timeline and annual development targets set for the Baili Wind Farm Area.

　　It has been confirmed that the owner's distributed wind power project will be submitted separately this time and must be constructed strictly according to the standards for distributed wind power integration.

　　The wind-powered clean heating project, as per the National Energy Administration's work plan, will soon be uniformly organized for research and deployment—this time, however, it will not be included in the reporting scope.

　　Yunnan Province

　　Based on the local grid's ability to accommodate renewable energy, it’s essential to carefully plan the annual scale of wind power projects. Given that the current wind power development in the Dali region is relatively concentrated—leading to some degree of power curtailment—we should temporarily pause the approval of new projects. In 2015, wind power construction will be strategically expanded into areas outside Dali Prefecture.