Wuhan uses windmill to quench thirst

Wuhan in Central China has put its first windmill into use. Using wind to pump water, this windmill will replace the traditional electric pump for irrigation in the area.

Thomas Column has pursued his windmill dream in China for five years. As a windmill designer and producer, he wanted to help Chinese farmers use renewable and clean energy as a substitute for electricity, gas, diesel and coal. For this reason, he established a company named the Iron Man. The company has cooperated with the local government to introduce windmill technology to help drought relief efforts.

Thomas Column said, "We are here because we really believe it's an important concept and technique to spread across China. And we are going to keep on working on that. We will never give up. We are going to make sure that our windmill technology will help as many people in China as possible."

The location for setting up the windmill is called Caijiazha, a region wrought by year-long droughts in Wuhan. For many years, tremendous resources were used here for relief work. Once established, the windmill is expected to alleviate the situation and reduce costs by some one million yuan a year.

Chen Guolian, deputy governor of Huangpi District, Wuhan, "Caijiazha County boasts abundant wind resources. The windmill water pumping system is a low-cost and energy-saving system. Each windmill can help save 20,000 to 30,000 yuan of electricity cost each year."

The new windmill pumps 500 to 1,000 tons of water every day to the farmlands. This environmentally-friendly technology has gained support from the local government. Another nine windmills will be installed in the coming two years.