CLP Power said it is considering raising electricity rates 2 percent every year to cover the cost of offshore wind farms.

The increases will span two decades, commencing from 2016, when the proposed farms go into operation, the power company said on Monday.

The project is expected to cost HK$5-7 billion, said Lo Pak-cheong, corporate development director of CLP power Hong Kong.

The calculation is based on a rough estimation that 60 to 70 wind turbines will be built, with each costing about HK$80 million.

The power company has been seeking to build a 16-sq-km wind farm in the southeastern waters of Hong Kong, or about 9 km away from the Clear Water Bay peninsula.

The maximum generation capacity is expected to meet the needs for up to 80,000 households of four.

But the scale of the project can only be determined after important on-site data are collected.

CLP will install a data mast at the proposed wind farm site in the second quarter of 2012 to collect a number of wind data, including wind speed, wave, velocity, temperatures, relative humidity, and air pressure.

This is considered a vital part of the feasibility study to assess the actual benefits of the wind farm project, and to determine whether the project will go ahead.

If the outcome is undesirable, Lo added, CLP may downsize the project, or look for other opportunities.

This is another step forward after the power company obtained the environmental permit for the project in 2009.

CLP will adopt a method widely used in overseas oil and gas drilling platform projects to install foundations for the data mast, to cope with the challenging site condition.

The 30-meter water depth makes the project one of the deepest offshore wind farm in the world.

The technology avoids the requirement for dredging or piling works and causes limited noise. The entire construction process will take just a few days, instead of weeks under conventional methods.

The transportation and installation processes for the data mast will also pave the way for the future offshore wind turbine installation.

This will be the first application of the deep-water technology in Hong Kong.

Greenpeace campaigner Prentice Koo Wai-muk applauded the progress.

Koo said he believed the annual 2 percent rate raise was affordable for Hong Kong.

Moreover, it's a wise spending, he added.

Koo said he hopes that more offshore wind farms will be built at a lower cost and much faster in future, after the two first-ever farms set an example.

Hong Kong Electricity will complete another offshore wind farm in 2015 at the southwest of Lamma Island.

guojiaxue@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 09/06/2011 page1)