Chinese wind power companies target foreign markets to profit from climate efforts

Chinese wind power companies target global markets

• By Joe Mcdonald, AP Business Writer

• On 12:20 pm EST, Sunday December 6, 2009

BEIJING (AP) -- China's Goldwind Science & Technology Ltd. is one of the world's biggest makers of wind turbines -- a cornerstone of the booming clean power business -- but is unknown outside its home country.

AP - FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2009 file photo, a farmer and his donkeys labor near a wind ...

Goldwind aims to change that. In a Minnesota farmer's cornfield, the company is erecting three 20-story-tall windmills in its first American project and hopes it will help to woo other buyers.

"There are a lot of leads and we are following them up," said Kerry Zhou, Goldwind's director of development. "We certainly expect that by 2011 we can get good results."

China's market for wind equipment is on track to overtake the U.S. this year as the world's largest, spurred by a government campaign to promote renewable energy to clean up its battered environment and curb surging demand for foreign oil and gas.

Now the biggest Chinese manufacturers want to expand to the United States, Europe and other markets. Western suppliers could face new competition as low-priced Chinese rivals seek to profit from global efforts to limit climate change.

Chinese manufacturers could get a boost if officials at this week's U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, agree on new measures to spread use of clean energy.

Beijing is promoting the industry as part of sweeping efforts to transform China into a creator of profitable technologies. Utilities have been told to step up clean energy spending even as the global crisis cuts into investment elsewhere.