Powering China's Development: The Role of Renewable Energy

”Concisely written, the report provides an in-depth analysis regarding the prevailing issues related to renewables in China today”.
—Frank Haugwitz, EU-China Energy & Environment Programme, EU Renewable Energy Manager

“Provides a comprehensive and authoritative overview of renewable energy development in China, with insightful observations of major challenges and potential options to address them. An essential source of information for anyone who is interested in the renewable energy sector in China."
—Wang Wanxing, Senior Program Officer for Electricity and Renewables, The Energy Foundation Beijing Office

Beijing-based researcher Eric Martinot, a Worldwatch senior fellow, and Li Junfeng, Vice Chair of China’s Renewable Energy Society in Beijing, examine China’s progress in becoming a global leader in renewable energy. With the breakneck expansion of China’s economy and its reliance on coal, the country grapples with the far-reaching environmental, security, and social implications of its growth. A combination of ambitious targets supported by strong government policies and the manufacturing prowess of the Chinese may enable China to “leapfrog” so-called industrialized nations in renewable technology in the years immediately ahead.

Powering China's Development: The Role of Renewable Energy

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China will likely achieve—and may even exceed—its target to obtain 15 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. If China’s commitment to diversifying its energy supply and becoming a global leader in renewables manufacturing persists, renewable energy could provide over 30 percent of the nation’s energy by 2050.

With its booming economy and rapidly expanding energy consumption,particularly its use of coal and oil,it is imperative for China to diversify its energy supplies. China’s carbon dioxide emissions are on the rise and are expected to exceed total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions shortly, although Chinese per-capita emissions remain about one-sixth those of the United States.

More than $50 billion was invested in renewable energy worldwide in 2006, and China is expected to invest over $10 billion in new renewables capacity in 2007, second only to Germany. Wind and solar energy are expanding particularly rapidly in China, with production of wind turbines and solar cells both doubling in 2006. China is poised to pass world solar and wind manufacturing leaders in Europe, Japan, and North America in the next three years, and it already dominates the markets for solar hot water and small hydropower.

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