China to use curtailed wind power for heating

Repost from Clean Technica | May 1, 2013

China is to use curtailed wind power to heat homes.  Curtailed wind power is wasted power in excess of demand.  This is prevalent in Jan Li province where curtailed power amounted to 20,000 gwH, double of what was in 2011.  The wind farms are allowed to operate only for 1,400 hours, well below the l,900 hours for the industry.

The excess, curtailed power can heat 6.6 million homes for one hour,  277,000 homes in one day, and 761 homes in one year. 

The use of curtailed power would have 3 benefits:

1.  Reduce air pollution.  Air pollution from burning coal, and heating homes from wood stoves has caused millions of death in China (WHO)

2.  Conservation of coal for other industrial use.  As a fossil fuel, coal is a scarce non renewable resource.

3.  Business for wind farms