Shanghai Embarks On 100,000 Solar Roofs Initiative

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The municipal government of Shanghai recently launched an initiative to install photovoltaic (PV) systems on 100,000 of the city's 6 million rooftops, reported Xinhua News Agency. The program signals a new stage in the wider adoption of solar power in China's energy-thirsty urban areas.

The solar roofs, which convert sunlight into electricity, are expected to generate at least 430 million kilowatt-hours of power annually, enough to supply the city for nearly two days. Their use will save roughly 20,000 tons of coal for power generation and reduce 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Shanghai has suffered from severe power shortages for several years and is in desperate need of new energy sources to fuel its soaring economic growth. Most recently, it has resorted to getting power from as far away as the Three Gorges Hydraulic Power Station, some 1,000 kilometers to the west. Poorly endowed with both coal and hydropower, the city has plentiful but under-exploited solar resources, registering an average of 1,930 sunlight hours citywide in 2004 and as much as 2,318 hours at Chongming Island, in the Yangtze River estuary. Currently solar energy accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the city's power supply.

The initial cost of the program—as much as 150,000 RMB (US $18,496) per roof—will be subsidized in part by the government. This high upfront cost is expected to pay off once the system is up and running. The lifespan of the emissions-free PV technology is between 30 and 35 years, and it requires little additional investment or labor.

Shortly after Shanghai's decision to adopt solar roofs, neighboring Jiangsu Province initiated a 1,000-rooftop PV program, using Wuxi City as a trial base. The two programs, galvanized by China's drive to develop clean energy sources under its new law on renewable energy, will generate experience in the use of solar technologies and have a far-reaching impact on the nation's energy future.