With Asia's largest offshore wind power plant coming into operation last year, Rudong county enters a new era for its wind power sector. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Rudong county – administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – is said to have entered a new era for the development of its wind power sector.

In January, the on-grid energy generated by wind power plants in Rudong totaled 902 million kilowatt hours, some 1.48 times that of the county's social electricity consumption during the same period, according to the Rudong county development and reform commission, marking the point where wind power generation is now greater than electricity consumption.

Rudong took the lead in developing wind power sector in 2002 and has since been committed to developing the low-carbon economy.

With the landing of China's first tranche of projects with special permits for wind power and the first offshore wind power project, Rudong entered a period of rapid development in the sector.

In December last year, the largest offshore wind power plant in Asia, with a total installed capacity of 4.83 million kWh, was completed there and put into operation. To date, the total installed capacity of wind power facilities in Rudong has reached 5.6 million kWh.

In addition to the self-evident economic benefits, the wind power sector also brings huge environmental benefits. As of the end of January, nearly 36 billion kWh of electricity had been generated by wind power facilities in Rudong and connected to the national grid.

Compared with thermal power generation, an estimated 12.57 million tons of standard coal was saved, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 43.12 million tons and sulfur dioxide emissions by 125,800 tons.