Using a combination of technological advances, aggressive policies, and a strong financial position, China’s growth in renewable energy has far outstripped that of most developed or developing nations.
The report contains a comprehensive review of China’s progress in clean energy to date as well as its plans for future growth through 2020 and recommendations for how to improve. Worldwatch China Program Director Haibing Ma, Climate and Energy Program Director Alexander Ochs, and a team of China-based researchers led by Li Junfeng, President of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, all contributed to the study. The report was undertaken with funding from and in partnership with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP).
“Governments and industries around the world are now struggling to keep pace with China,” said Worldwatch President Christopher Flavin. “China is succeeding precisely where the United States is failing – in implementing the ambitious policies and making the sustained investment that is needed to spur growth in clean energy. If China keeps on its current pace, it will be the undisputed global leader in clean energy within the next two years.”
In 2009, for example, China surpassed the United States to become the world’s largest market for wind power, housing nearly one-third of the total installed capacity. China’s newly added wind power capacity has doubled every year for the past four years, adding an impressive 13.8 gigawatts of new capacity in 2009.
The same year, China’s solar photovoltaic companies held 40 percent of the global market, with most production being exported to Europe. More than 20 Chinese solar PV companies have successfully engaged in initial public offerings (IPOs), and five of these rank in the world’s top 10 in solar PV production.
China’s installed solar water heating capacity alone accounts for 80 percent of global installations, and it is the world’s leading manufacturer of solar water heaters, with domestic production capacity topping 40 million square meters in 2009. Chinese manufacturers now have a remarkable 90 percent of the global market for these products.
Elsewhere, the Asian giant’s small hydropower capacity is roughly equal to the small hydro installed capacity in the rest of the world combined.
Finally, the good news for the environment does not just stop at the large steps China is taking to ramp up its renewable capacity. Between 2005 and 2009, China also reduced its energy intensity (energy use per unit of GDP) by 15.6 percent, and is on target to achieve its 20 percent target by 2010.
Between 2006 and 2008, China shut down more than 34 GW of small thermal power plants and eliminated nearly 61 million tons of obsolete iron production capacity, 44 million tons of steel production capacity, and 140 million tons of cement production capacity—saving 72 million tons of coal equivalent (tce).
Managing the impact of future growth
China needs to build on the progress made so far if it is to mitigate the impacts of future growth. Although per capita energy use remains well below the world average (2.1 tce in China versus 6.6 in developed (OECD) countries and 11.1 in the United States), its energy consumption has doubled since 2000. Furthermore, China’s vehicle fleet is estimated to increase by 1 million every month, while coal consumption has doubled and oil consumption tripled over the past nine years.
Tackling these pressures on the environment will take Chinese ingenuity and the Asian giant is confident it can continue to grow and improve living standards while reducing its impact on the environment. China has plans to reduce its carbon emissions per unit of economic output 40–45 percent by 2020 and according to Chinese projections, renewables should represent 16–20 percent of total energy consumption by 2020, and 40–45 percent by 2050.
“We think this report will bring an improved understanding amongst non-Chinese decision makers about the problems and opportunities China faces in the energy field,” said Li Junfeng, REEEP’s regional director for East Asia and Secretary General of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, “and it also has enhanced the capacity of China’s own energy efficiency and renewable energy experts to advise the country’s top energy decision-makers”.
Worldwatch is an independent research organisation based in Washington, D.C., that works on energy, resource, and environmental issues. The Institute’s State of the World report is published annually in more than 20 languages.
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