HK Blows
In the near future, we may soon see two offshore wind farms providing clean energy for Hong Kong—but it is a very small step toward reaching international clean energy standards.
Things are going to be a little bit different in Sai Kung and Lamma in the near future. The city’s two electric companies, China Light & Power (CLP) and Hong Kong Electric, are planning to build offshore wind farms just off those two coastlines. Instead of the boundless sea, the panoramic views in these areas will likely soon be home to two wind turbine farms.
CLP and Hong Kong Electric are now pushing forward with their plans to build marine wind farms. CLP has picked a spot located 10 kilometers off Sai Kung where they plan to erect 67 wind turbines. With each turbine costing about $80 million to $100 million, CLP will spend about $7 billion on the project. The project will be commenced in 2014 and it is expected that the wind farm will generate a maximum output of approximately 200MW electricity upon completion. It is estimated that the electricity generated will be about one percent of Hong Kong’s total electricity needs.
Hong Kong Electric is less ambitious, and will build only 35 turbines in the sea southwest of Lamma by 2015. Their total investment amounts to $3 billion and their target is to produce 100MW of electricity, which equals to about 1.6 percent of the company’s total electricity sent out in 2008.
Combining the electricity outputs of the two proposed wind farms, Hong Kong will be able to use one to two percent of energy generated from renewable sources. Currently, our city is primarily reliant on energy produced from burning coal, as well as natural gas and nuclear energy. After so many years of waiting, the wind farms can be viewed as a start on a path to cleaner energy. However, the amount of renewable energy used in our city thanks to these farms would still be minimal and insignificant. Hong Kong claims itself to be a world-class city—but it has lagged behind in the development of renewable energy. Many say that these farms won’t change this.
“Compared to other developed countries, Hong Kong has a really low target. We can’t even compare with the mainland target because it is a lot higher than ours. Hong Kong should be ashamed,” says Professor Dennis Leung from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Hong Kong. In 2005, the Council for Sustainable Development set the target for renewable energy to represent one to two percent of Hong Kong’s total electricity supply by 2012. Although that target can be achieved with the construction of the offshore wind farms, the target is not actually legally binding and there are no further goals after 2012. “We don’t really know what will happen [in terms of the renewable energy goal] after that,” says Gloria Chang, Greenpeace Senior Campaigner.
In contrast to Hong Kong’s lukewarm attitude, the mainland is now formulating ambitious plans to develop renewable energy. In 2007, the Central Government announced the Medium and Long-term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in China and pledged to increase its electricity generation from renewable sources to 10 percent by 2010 and to 15 percent by 2015. However, this law is not applicable to Hong Kong. “There is something strange about Hong Kong. Though the law is a good thing, this kind of legislation will not be extended to Hong Kong under ‘one country, two systems,’” says Chang.