Key dates in the development of China's wind power sector

1976: The Pingtan Wind Power Test Station is set up in Pingtan county, Fujian province, followed by the establishment of test stations on Shengsi Island, Zhejiang province, and Badaling in Beijing in 1979.

May 1986: China's first grid-connected demonstration wind farm, boasting three 55-kilowatt wind turbine generators from Denmark, is built in Malan Bay, Rongcheng, Shandong province.

1986 to 1992: A China-Sweden wind energy science and technology cooperation project is rolled out in China. The two sides jointly carry out research on wind turbine stability and flows around blades. The research proves essential to designing and testing wind turbines in China.

1996: The now-defunct State Economic and Trade Commission launches the Investment and Reform Program to select the best-performing enterprises over a three-year period. Selected companies are given access to low-interest preferential loans to widen the wind power market.

March 1996: The now-defunct State Planning Commission launches the Ride the Wind Program. The government provides 240-megawatt wind farm development opportunities to attract foreign companies to the Chinese market through joint ventures.

1997: The Institute of Measurement and Control of Rotating Machinery and Wind Energy Devices is jointly established by the Northwestern Polytechnical University and the Berlin Polytechnic University.

June 1998: The first wind-driven generator made in China is linked to the grid in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The localization rate of its components is 33.4 percent.

2002 and 2005: The Sino-German wind power talent training cooperation project organizes two rounds of training, the 32 participants make up the initial core of China's wind industry leadership.

2003: The State Planning Commission launches the Concession Bidding Program, requiring minimum local component rates for wind turbine manufacturing. The required local components in wind turbines is fixed at no less than 50 percent in the first round in 2003. The proportion climbs to 75 percent in 2007 and 2008.

June 2006: GE Energy's first wind turbine assembly plant in China is established in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province.

Sept 2006: The first wind power plant funded by Gamesa, Spain's largest wind power equipment manufacturer, is put into operation in Tianjin.

2006 to 2012: The National Science and Technology Infrastructure Program undertakes six projects to support wind energy development and utilization.

2007 to 2014: The National Basic Research Program of China carries out four projects to support the R&D and manufacturing of large wind turbines.

2009 to 2014: The National High Technology Research and Development Program launches eight projects to support wind energy development and utilization, and develop knowledge and R&D to advance local manufacturing of state-of-the-art equipment.

Nov 2010: The National Standards Committee approves the Rules and Procedures for Conformity Testing and Certification of Wind Turbine Generator Systems, which pave the way for the Chinese certification system to become recognized internationally.

2010: The Ministry of Science and Technology approves the establishment of the National Key Laboratory of Wind Power Generation System.

2016 and 2018: A national center of quality supervision and inspection for wind power equipment is officially established in Gansu and Jiangsu provinces.

Feb 2022: A 13-MW offshore wind turbine rolls off the production line in Fujian province. The localization rate of components for the turbine, which has the largest single-unit capacity in Asia at the time, reaches 90 percent.

July: A 16-MW offshore wind turbine is assembled in Fujian, the biggest in the world in terms of single-unit capacity. All of its key components are made in China.