State-owned wind power giant Sinovel will invest 3 billion yuan ($469 million) to build a wind farm at the Ningdong energy and chemical base in eastern Ningxia, officials said Tuesday.

The site will include facilities for research and development, production, sales, maintenance and training services. The wind farm, which is expected to be completed by next year, will have a total production capacity exceeding one million kilowatts.

As a clean and renewable power source, wind power has become the world's consensus choice to transition away from fossil fuels and boost economic growth.

Ningxia's position in the windy Gansu-Inner Mongolia-Liaoning region gives it significant untapped wind power potential. According to a recent wind energy resource assessment, the region has total wind power reserves of 22.53 million kilowatts, of which at least 12 million kilowatts are suitable for exploitation.

Prime areas for wind power development include Helan Mountain, Hongsibao, Mahuangshan, Qingtongxia, Changshantou and Ningdong.

At present, the Ningdong base has installed wind power capacity of 436,000 kilowatts and accounts for 45.22 percent of regional wind capacity. Another 247,500 kilowatts of capacity is under construction, which will eventually be expanded to create a million-kilowatt energy production base by 2015.