中國風電產業不滿限制風電併網措施

China’s wind industry is considering legal action against government ministries in three Chinese provinces in an attempt to force the country to use more wind Energy, as systemic problems hinder Beijing’s commitment to cut fossil fuel use.

由於體制問題一直阻礙着北京方面實現其減少化石燃料使用的承諾，中國風電行業正考慮在三個省份採取針對政府部門的法律行動，以設法推動中國更多地使用風電。

China has emerged as the world’s top region for wind power, accounting for a third of global installed capacity after overtaking the EU last year, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. But much of the electricity produced by its vast wind farms goes unused, with grids unable to accommodate fluctuating sources of power and amid rising overcapacity in the country’s total power generation.

根據全球風能理事會(Global Wind Energy Council)的數據，去年中國已超過歐盟，成爲世界風電裝機容量最高的地區，佔全球風電裝機容量的三分之一。但中國龐大風力發電廠生產的很多電能並未得到利用，因爲電網接納不了不穩定的電力來源，而且中國總髮電量正處於產能過剩不斷上升時期。

China’s Wind Association said on Thursday it had given relevant ministries in the provinces of Gansu, Yunnan and Xinjiang two weeks to justify explicit curbs on wind power use by local grids, and may pursue litigation depending on the response.

中國風能協會(Wind Energy Association)週四表示，該協會已要求甘肅、雲南、新疆三省相關部門在兩週時間內，就明確限制風電併入地方電網的規定作出解釋，並且可能根據迴應情況決定是否提起訴訟。

The National Energy Administration this week ordered grid companies “to plug in all renewable power sources that comply with their technical standards”. However, it fell short of ensuring the full utilisation that has long been required by law.

本週，中國國家能源局(National Energy Administration)下令要求電網公司“接入所有符合技術標準的可再生電力能源”。但這並不保證全額利用，而全額利用是法律早就規定的。

Chinese regulations require all wind power to be bought by the grid, to help meet the national goal of reducing coal-fired power by 60 per cent over the next five years.

中國相關法規要求電網購買所有的風電，以幫助實現未來五年燃煤發電減少60%的國家目標。

“We hope to use the law to solve this problem,” said Qin Haiyan, general secretary of the Wind Energy Association.

中國風能協會祕書長秦海巖表示：“我們希望用法律解決這一問題。”

“For many years [local governments] have taken specific measures [to curb wind power use], so we want to know what legal backing they have,” said Mr Qin.

“多年來，（地方政府）採取了各種具體措施（限制風電使用），因此，我們想知道他們有什麼法律依據，”秦海巖說。

Chinese curtailment of wind power totalled 34bn kilowatt hours in 2015 — equivalent to the amount needed to power 8.5m UK households, according to the association. In winter, when curtailment rates are highest, wastage reaches as high as 60 per cent in some provinces.

根據該協會的數據，中國2015年棄風限電總量達到340億千瓦時，相當於850萬戶英國家庭的用電需求量。在棄風率最高的冬季，某些省份的風電浪費高達60%。

The association estimates that wind power companies lost a total of Rmb18bn ($2.8bn) because of curtailment in 2015.

該協會估計，2015年，中國風電企業因棄風造成的損失共計180億元人民幣（合28億美元）。

Liu Zhenya, State Grid chairman, said on Wednesday that the need to use coal-fired plants that double as residential heating providers in north-east China was part of the reason for the reduced use of wind power, and that “the approval process for wind power and for the grid are different”.

國家電網(State Grid)董事長劉振亞週三表示，東北地區把數量翻倍的火電廠用作住宅供暖提供商，這種需要是風電使用減少的一部分原因，而且“審批風電和電網項目不是同時的，不是協調的”。

However, wind power producers’ woes go beyond bureaucracy.

然而，風電生產商面臨的困難遠不止官僚作風。

Wind companies in Yunnan province in south-west China say they were required to compensate coal-fired power plants whose power was not being fully used. Yunnan has a surplus of power thanks to massive hydropower dams.

雲南省的風電公司表示，它們被要求爲電力沒有得到全部使用的火電廠提供補償。得益於有大量的水電站，雲南電力過剩。

In sparsely populated Xinjiang, where huge power projects are far from available markets, wind producers say they have been asked to curtail unless they have contracts to sell outside the region. But exports from Xinjiang and neighbouring regions in the remote north-west face growing competition as inland and coastal provinces install their own wind power projects to meet provincial renewable energy quotas.

在人口稀疏的新疆地區，大型電力項目距離現有市場非常遠，當地風電場表示，它們被要求限制發電，除非它們與外省有供電合約。但隨着內陸和沿海省份紛紛上馬自己的風電項目以滿足本省的可再生能源配額，位於西北偏遠地區的新疆及鄰近地區要向外輸出電力就面臨日益激烈的競爭。

Wind farms in regions with high degrees of curtailment are often forced by local governments to offer power at a discount, despite higher official prices. Renewable energy subsidies from the finance ministry take some time to come through and are not sufficient to compensate for their losses.

棄風率較高地區的風電場通常被地方政府強迫以折扣價供應電力，儘管官方價格較高。而中國財政部的可再生能源補貼需要一段時間纔會到位，並且也不足以補償它們的損失。

The wait has a huge impact on wind companies’ finances, according to Ying Yuan, a Greenpeace analyst. “Dispatch of the [subsidies] usually takes one year or even longer,” she said. “A lot of wind companies can’t afford this delay.”

綠色和平(Greenpeace)分析師Ying Yuan表示，這種拖延對風電公司的財務影響很大。“（補貼）通常需要一年乃至更長時間才發放下來，許多風電公司經不起這種拖延。”

Problems can arise even when wind is accepted by the grid. One wind company spokesperson, who did not want to be named, said her company had produced 50m kWh in 2015 for which it had received no payment. She expects the problem to be worse next year.

即便風電被併入電網，依然可能出現問題。一位不願透露姓名的風電公司發言人表示，她所在公司在2015年的發電量是5000萬千瓦時，但還沒有收到任何付款。她預計明年問題會更嚴重。