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Solar energy china
Introduction
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With it's 1.3 billion population, China is the worlds largest emitter of carbon dioxide. However, from an per capita perspective their emissions is far below half of the industrial nations. An ongoing "2hot topic" these days is Chinas energy policies. Its seems that the emissions increase is a newer ending story, and new carbon power plants are installed every day! What people might not know is that China is the world largest consumer of solar energy. It is the largest producer of solar water heaters, accounting for 60 percent of the world’s solar hot water heating capacity, and the total installed heaters is estimated at 30 million households. Solar PV production in China is also in rapid development. In 2007, 0.82 GW Solar PV is produced, second only to Japan.
General Work Plan for Energy ConservationEdit
The General Work Plan for Energy Conservation and Pollutant Discharge Reduction aims to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (energy intensity) by 20% over the course of the 11th five-year plan which ends in 2010, as well as cutting the discharge of major pollutants by 10%. The plan was issued in 2007 after the 4% reduction in energy intensity targeted for 2006 was missed, and all companies and local and national government have been asked to submit detailed plans for compliance before June 30, 2007. In 2006 the reduction achieved was 1.23%. Implementation will involve a variety of measures, including increased use of renewable energy, revised pricing for primary energy sources and electricity, export restrictions on energy intensive and highly polluting products, and tax incentives for pollution-reduction projects. Central and local government will switch to low-energy lighting, and will be compelled to purchase only the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly electrical products.
Officials have been warned that violating energy conservation and environmental protection laws will lead to criminal proceedings, while failure to achieve targets will be taken into account in the performance assessment of officials and business leaders.
China in the NewsEdit
A recent report by Ernst & Young revealed that China is the most attractive country for investors in renewable energy, ahead of the United States, India, and Germany. This is primarily due to China's diversification of its renewable energy portfolio by increasing emphasis on offshore wind and concentrated solar power. Along with the ever-increasing advent of new technologies, China is in a league of its own. The above report has prompted China to increase its 2015 solar capacity target from 5 GW to 10 GW, with an even loftier goal of reaching 50 GW by 2020.
An article by China Daily states that China's solar energy industry is on the cusp of a huge boom. The country is already the world's top solar panel exporter and is expected to become one of the major PV-module consumers as well. Charles Gay, president of Applied Material's solar business division claims that "by 2018, grid parity will be met in China, two years ahead of the United States." Gay also expects the global solar industry to grow by at least 30 percent annually in the next five years. He argues this would further stimulate the Chinese market for solar energy.
Chinese researchers at the Shanghai Solar Energy Research Centre point to the falling cost of solar power as one of the main catalysts in solar research and development. Vice President Hao Guoqiang believes solar prices are dropping about 10 to 20 percent each year. Asia Pacific News reports that Guoqiang and other researchers are optimistic that solar should be able to ease the country's power shortage by 2015.
In addition to establishing a domestic base for solar energy, China is planning multiple business ventures in 40 African countries, aiming to cut their reliance on traditional fossil fuels and increase the market for Chinese manufacturers. As described in this Business Report article, China is looking to divert its solar marketing efforts away from Europe, where an oversupply in solar panels caused the export-value growth of Chinese PV products to decline from 107 percent in 2010 to an expected 60 percent this year. Initial cost estimates for the Africa program are at $100 million, which will use competitive bidding to market Chinese-made panels.
From the above reports, it certainly seems as though China has devised a long-term strategy to address its growing role in the solar industry. Solar cell prices are dropping across the globe and countries like China, the US, India, and Germany should be the first to take advantage of the economic and environmental benefits that solar has to offer.
