China's rapid economic growth has driven an increasing thirst for energy. While the country strives to reduce its carbon emissions, renewable energy industries are heading towards unprecedented growth. But its development has not been easy.

For 25 years, Wang Jin has been working on these giant machines to transform wind into electric power. Although his personal account reads that the wind power industry has grown from an expensive experiment to a multi-billion industry, it's still far from enough.

Installed wind power generation capacity has been doubling every year for the past 6 years, surpassing expectations. But the growth has also met difficulties.

Zhang Fusheng, General Manager of Inner Mongolian Power Grid, said, "Strong wind or mild wind is a gift from nature. We can't control it. Meanwhile, the grid requires a stable current flows. And wind power is intermittent in nature, and cannot ensure a smooth flow."

Solar power, another form of clean energy,is also facing difficulties. Although China is the number one producer of solar panels, its use is very limited due to high costs.

Developers and researchers believe renewable energy including wind and solar power are the ultimate solution. Yet the power of the wind is facing difficulties in blowing away our dependance on fossil fuels - at least for now.

Love it, or hate it, coal is still China's dominant energy resource. 70 percent of all the electricity produced in this country comes from the burning of coal. A fundamental change in the country's energy structure won't occur in the near future.

Zhou Dadi, Vice Chairman of State Energy Advisory Committee, said, "Energy restructuring is a long term task. It is a hard job, and you don't expect a change overnight. It is important to both reduce waste and promote new energy forms that also include nuclear and hydro-electric powers. Than we can expect a structural change in two or three decades."

With a strong determination to improve people's livelihood and reduce green house gases, China is facing a hard task to achieve a development path that doesn't hurt sustainability.

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