China Industry: Apr. 9

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Apr. 9 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Wind power
Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S retained the number one spot in BTM Consult’s Wind Market Update 2009 report as Chinese manufacturers sneaked into the top five.

Vestas captured 12.5 percent of the global market, while GE Wind, the wind power unit of U.S. industrial giant General Electric, followed with a 12.4 percent share.

In an indication that U.S. and European manufacturers are facing fierce competition from Chinese rivals, Beijing-based Sinovel ranked third, with 9.2 percent, and fellow company Goldwind was fifth with 7.2 percent. Germany’s Enercon was fourth, with 8.5 percent of the worldwide market.

Spain’s Gamesa was pushed back into number six, followed by Chinese firm Dongfang , India’s Suzlon and Siemens Wind Power.

However, if Suzlon-controlled offshore specialist Repower is added to the parent company’s share, Suzlon has 9.8 percent of global market share, putting it in the third place behind Vestas and GE.

“The most significant change in the supply market was the strong growth of Chinese wind turbine suppliers,” BTM says in its report.

The Top 10 suppliers of wind turbines are responsible for around 80.9 percent of the global market, while another 25 companies make the most of the rest, the report points out.

China, the world’s largest polluter, plans to have 150 GW of wind farms up and running over the next decade, with offshore wind alone expected to account for 20 GW of the total nameplate capacity.

In 2009, China ramped up its wind generating capacity to 25.1 GW from 12.1 GW in 2008, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. Industry researchers Emerging Energy Research (EER) says installations are on track to clear the 200 GW mark by 2020.

The share of renewables in the nation’s total supplies should rise to 15 percent by 2020 from 8.5 percent at present.

Aviation
Several airlines are introducing or looking to introduce new routes to China over the next several months.

China Southern Airlines is considering a direct service between Jilin Province and Pyongyang, North Korea, from June.

The National Tourism Bureaus of North Korea and Jilin are in discussions about a service from Changchun or Yanji, both in Jilin Province, to Pyongyang.

Currently, North Korea-based Air Koryo operates three directs flights a week between Pyongyang and Beijing. Air China also operates two flights a week between the two capitals.

Air France-KLM meanwhile, intends to start direct services between Amsterdam and Hangzhou on May 8. This new flight will boost the number of the company’s weekly flights to China to 36. The air carrier will fly on the Amsterdam – Hangzhou route three times a week using Boeing 777-200ER.

Vietnam Airlines carried out its first direct flight between Vietnam and Shanghai on March 28. The company will operate a direct service between Hanoi and Shanghai three times a week and between Ho Chi Minh City and Shanghai four times a week.

This industry report brief is courtesy of Aii Data Processing.