ABSTRACT
China's wind-energy industry started late compared to the US and Europe. Foreign turbine manufacturers, led by Vestas and Gamesa, had taken a lead in starting China's wind-turbine industry in the hope of gaining huge new markets for their products. By 2011, China's wind industry was facing massive growing pains. The country's grid system was buckling under the strain of bringing on the new wind capacity, particularly because the bulk of projects had been located in the arid north and west, far from the densely populated – and transmission system-dense – demand centres in the eastern and southern coastal areas. It is interesting to look at the rollercoaster ride of the Chinese wind-turbine industry through the stories of two companies; Sinovel and Goldwind. The meteoric rise of Sinovel was one most visible product of the boom in the Chinese wind industry. Goldwind Science and Technology has managed to maintain its market share and avoid major corporate upheaval and legal controversy.
