Interfax-China reported that a thermal power plant with 13.60 million kilowatts of installed capacity will be built to support power output at the Jiuquan Wind Power Farm in western China's Gansu Province at times of lower wind speeds.

According to an announcement by the government of Jiuquan City on July 13th a timetable for construction of the plant is not available, but getting it up and running is a high priority as wind turbines at the farm are being installed at a faster than expected pace. The plant will source coal from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

In addition, expanding the power grid that the wind farm is connected to has been pushed to the top of the local government's agenda.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission blueprint of the project, the Jiuquan Wind Power Farm will have installed capacity of 5.16 million kW by 2010 and 12.71 million kW by 2015.

By 2020, the wind farm's installed capacity is expected to grow to 20 million kW, surpassing the installed capacity of 18.20 million kW of China's largest hydropower plant, the Three Gorges.

(Sourced from Interfax-China)