China's first 1.5 megawatt (1,500 kW) wind-power generator with completely independent intellectual property rights has rolled off the assembly line in the southern Guangdong Province.

The price was at least 20 percent lower than similar imported products or those manufactured by joint ventures, said the Guangdong Mingyang Wind Power Technology Co., Ltd.

The generator was designed for China's climate and is resistant to typhoons, sand storms and extremely low temperatures. The technologies of the generator have been certified by GL Germanischer Lloyd, according to the company.

The company has received orders for 250,000 kw of its wind power generators valued at 1.6 billion yuan (US$210.5 million), said Zhang Chuanwei, chairman of the parent company Guangdong Mingyang Electric Group Co., Ltd.

He said that company's annual production capacity of wind power generators will rise from the current 450 units to 1,000 units by 2010.

China's wind power resource exceeds one billion kilowatts, according to official estimates.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2007)