With its voracious appetite for energy and a generous supply of wind, it is no surprise China has rapidly developed a market for wind power. Until recently the market was domestic, but now wind turbine companies are eyeing prospects in markets such as Europe and the US. “To date, it’s been about stimulating investment locally,” says Ben Warren, Ernst & Young’s environmental finance expert. “But it’s also about getting a foothold in the future energy economy.”

Already, four Chinese wind turbines makers – Sinovel, Vestas, Goldwind and Dongfang – rank among the world’s top 10 turbine manufacturers. Even without moving overseas, the industry has taken up a large share of the world’s wind power. “About half of the wind turbines installed around the world last year were in China,” says Mr Warren.

In this rapid expansion, wind turbine manufacturers have had generous state support. As the government seeks to reduce its dependency on coal-based power, it has worked aggressively to develop renewable sources of energy, and the wind industry has been at the receiving end of many of the policy carrots.

Under Beijing’s renewable energy law, wind generator  projects have received particularly strong incentives. In addition, national targets have accelerated the development of renewable technologies while feed-in tariffs have guaranteed a rate of return for investors in windmill power. “It’s a policy driven market,” says Liming Qiao, China director of the Global Wind Energy Council. “The renewable energy law, which is the framework for all renewable energies, came into force in 2006. Since then, the industry has thrived.”

The government has also been anxious to attract outside investors to help build technological capabilities. As in other sectors, by running pilot programmes and scaling them up, the country has built industries that are low risk and require low investment levels. “That’s what they did with wind starting around 2000,” says Caitlin Pollock, senior analyst for Asia Pacific wind energy at IHS Emerging Energy Research.from:www. ft. com