Unlocking the grid

However, no turbines have been installed at Dabancheng for eight years.

Though one of the earliest to tap wind power, Xinjiang has failed to raise significantly the proportion of wind power in its total energy mix. The region has been overtaken by latecomers Inner Mongolia, and Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces, which have more local consumers.

"This is exceptional, compared with the wind power boom across the country," says Yu.

Despite official support, the expansion of clean energy is still plagued with problems.

Few wind farms are commercially viable, and most rely on government subsidies. The China Electricity Council says more than a quarter of the country's wind turbines were still not connected to the grid at the end of last year.

But the government is moving to rectify this blockage in order to meet far-sighted goals to reduce pollution and expand clean and sustainable energy forms.

In early 2005,the government promulgated the Renewable Energy Law, which offered support for wind power projects through electricity tariffs.

Since then, the generating capacity of China's wind farms has more than doubled each year. According to the China Wind Energy Association (CWEA), China overtook Germany as a country with the second largest installed wind power capacity, after the United States, last year.