China 's electricity regulator is planning nationwide equipment and safety checks on wind-power farms in August, in the wake of several large-scale outages caused by turbine and connectivity problems.

The problems facing the wind sector could cloud efforts by Chinese wind-turbine makers to promote exports needed because of overcapacity in the domestic market, and they add to China's other headaches resulting from a headlong rush to modernize, including a recent deadly train wreck and questions over the safety of its high-speed rail network.

The review will help address potential safety risks at a time when increasing amounts of renewable energy are due to be connected to the grid in the future, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said on its website.

Among problems faced by the sector have been four separate incidents at Jiuquan in Gansu province, in which 2,978 turbines were disconnected from the grid, China Daily newspaper reported Friday.

There have been 35 equipment failures reported in Jiuquan alone this year, the paper quoted SERC as saying, many due to turbines not being equipped with technology needed to handle changes in voltage.

China 's target for renewable energy to account for 15% of the national energy mix by 2020 from around 8% now has prompted an investment boom in the sector.

This has already made China the world leader in wind-power generating capacity, with as many as 34,000 turbines now installed. But many are in windy areas such as the remote Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia regions in the west and north of the country, which lack grid connectivity, and do little to meet spiralling energy demand in the industrial heartlands in the south and east.

The government is now prioritizing grid connectivity--an average 800 megawatts of new wind power capacity has been connected to the grid network each month this year.

There is a big manufacturing overcapacity issue-- China 's turbine production capacity is estimated at 35 gigawatts, at least 40% higher than its domestic demand this year, according to Citigroup power analyst Pierre Lau.

Leading domestic producers Sinovel Wind Group Co. (601558.SH) and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. (2208.HK) could find export opportunities crimped by their relatively short production track records--which makes it difficult to demonstrate the quality of products to overseas buyers--and the recent problems in their home market. The companies weren't immediately available to comment on the equipment and safety inspections.

"While our turbine makers are launching more sophisticated models of three megawatts and above, I think they should also address some of the quality issues with their key models that are used widely in onshore wind farms," China Longyuan Power Group Corp. (0916.HK) President Xie Changjun said in June. Longyuan is the country's largest wind farm operator by capacity.

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