Therefore, the call has been made to amend the policy to create a fair environment for all potential investors.

However, although many small investors have complained loudly about concession bidding in general, they have had opportunities on a smaller scale.

"They have licences from local governments to build wind-power projects at a reasonable price," Li said.

For example, in Inner Mongolia, the installed capacity of wind-power projects approved through bidding by the NDRC was 1,000 megawatts. But the total amount of wind-sourced electricity generation in the autonomous region is more than 4,000 megawatts.

"The rest of the projects are granted by local governments, accounting for a very big part," Li said. "The pricing mechanism will gradually be sensible. The government will make some adjustments if the regulation is not rational."

He did not specify how the mechanism would be adjusted, however.

A report released by CREIA, Greenpeace and Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) in October called on the Chinese Government to change the auction system for wind-power pricing to a feed-in-tariff system, which means the price is regulated directly by the government. The practice is considered successful in Germany, making it the leading wind-power country in the world.

The report said that four bidding rounds have established the basis for a shift from the auction system to a fixed tariff. Under the feed-in-tariff system, China would be divided into high, medium and low categories according to how well the wind can be exploited for power purposes.

The price should be adjusted in a timely fashion, the report said, but it would always be higher than for coal-fired power.

China has taken great strides in wind-power development in recent years. By the end of 2005, it had built 61 wind farms with a capacity of 1,260 megawatts, ranking seventh on the list of the world's major wind players. Last year the Chinese Government raised its wind-power goal for 2020 from 20,000 to 30,000 megawatts, and the report said the goal can be reached earlier if appropriate policies are in place.

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