Renewable energy in China

Renewable electricity overview

As of year end 2013 hydroelectric power remained by far the largest component of renewable electricity production at 920.3 TWh. Wind power provided the next largest share with 141.2 TWh followed by biofuels at 38.3 TWh. Solar PV power started from a low base of just 0.152 GWh in 2008 and has grown rapidly since then to reach 15.5 TWh by 2013. The overall share of electricity generated from renewable sources based on the figures in the above table has grown from a little over 17% in 2008 to a little over 20% by 2013. Whilst later figures are not available between the end of 2013 and 2015 wind turbine installations have increased by more than half and solar power installations have more than doubled. (See Wind power in China and Solar power in China for sources).

National laws and policies

After the dissolution of the Energy and Industry Department in 1993, China has been running without a government agency effectively managing the country's energy. Related issues are supervised by multiple organizations such as the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Commerce, State electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) and so forth. In 2008, the National Energy Administration was founded under the NDRC, however its work has been proven inefficient. In January 2010, the State Council decided to set up a National Energy Commission (NEC), headed by current Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The commission will be responsible for drafting a national energy development plan, reviewing energy security and major energy issues and coordinating domestic energy development and international cooperation.

The Chinese government is implementing multiple policies to promote renewable energy. From 2008 to January 2012, China held the top spot in clean energy investment. The Renewable Energy Law passed in 2005 explicitly states in its first chapter that the development and the usage of renewable energy is a prioritized area in energy development. The Twelfth Five-Year Plan, the current plan, also places great emphasis on green energy. Detailed incentive policies and programs include the Golden Sun program, which provides financial subsidies, technology support and market incentives to facilitate the development of the solar power industry; the Suggestions on Promoting Wind Electricity Industry in 2006, which offers preferential policies for wind power development; and many other policies. Besides promoting policies, China has enacted a number of policies to standardize renewable energy products, to prevent environmental damage, and to regulate the price of green energy. These policies include, but are not limited to Renewable Energy Law, the Safety Regulations of Hydropower Dams and the National Standard of Solar Water Heaters.

Several provisions in relevant Chinese laws and regulations address the development of methane gas in rural China. These provisions include Article 54 of the Agriculture Law of the People's Republic of China, Articles 4 and 11 of the Energy Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 18 of the Renewable Energy Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 12 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China Concerning Restoring Farmland to Forest.

On April 20, 2007, the Environment and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress and the National Development and Reform Commission convened a conference on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Renewable Energy Law. There were approximately 250 people who attended the conference from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Construction, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the National Bureau of Forestry, the National Power Network Company, science and technology institutes, oil companies, large energy investment companies, companies manufacturing renewable energy equipment, etc. Other conferences included the 3rd Annual China Power & Alternative Energy Summit, held from May 16–20, 2007, at the Swissotel, Beijing; the 2nd China Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Products and Technology Exhibition, held from June 1–3, 2007, in Beijing at the National Agricultural Exhibition Hall; and the 2007 China International Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Engineering Exhibition, held at the Beijing International Exhibition Center from June 25–29, 2007. The sponsors of the exhibition included the Asia Renewable Energy Association, the China Energy Enterprises Management Association and the China Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Enterprise Association.

CDM projects in China

According to the UNFCCC database, by November 2011, China was the leading host nation for CDM projects with 1661 projects (46.32%) of a total of 3586 registered project activities (100%). According to the IGES (Japan), the running total of CERs generated by CDM projects in China at 31 March 2011 was topped by HFC reduction/avoidance projects (365,577 x 1000t/CO2-e) followed by hydro power (227,693), wind power (149,492), N2O decomposition (102,798), and methane recovery (102,067).

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, of a total of more than 600 registered CDM Projects worldwide through mid-April 2007, there are now 70 registered CDM projects in China. The pace of Chinese CDM project registration is accelerating; prior to the beginning of 2007 China had a total of 34 registered CDM projects, yet to date in 2007 another 36 Chinese CDM projects have been registered.

The Shanghai Power Transmission and Distribution Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of the Shanghai Electric and Gas Group Joint Stock Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Canada's Xantrex Technology, Inc, to build a factory to design, manufacture and sell solar and wind power electric and gas electronics products. The new company is in the final stages of the approval process.

According to Theo Ramborst, the General Manager and CEO of Bosch Rexroth (China) Ltd., a subsidiary of the Bosch Group AG, a world leader in controls, transmission and machine hydraulics manufacturing, Bosch Rexroth (China) Ltd. contracted €120 million in wind turbo generator business in China in 2006, a 66% increase year-on-year. Responding to the increase in wind energy business in China, Bosch Rexroth (China) Ltd. invested ¥280 million in October 2006 in plant expansions in Beijing and Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. Earlier in 2006 Bosch Rexroth started up its Shanghai Jinqiao (Golden Bridge) factory, which is involved in the manufacture, installation, distribution and service of transmission and control parts and systems; the Shanghai facility will also serve as Bosch's principal center for technology, personnel and distribution in China.

Environmental protection and energy conservation

According to China's "Energy Blue Paper" recently written by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the average rate of recovery of coal from mining in China is only 30%, less than one-half the rate of recovery throughout the world; the rate of recovery of coal resources in the U.S., Australia, Germany and Canada is ~80%. The rate of recovery of coal from mining in Shanxi Province, China's largest source of coal is approximately 40%, though the rate of recovery of village and township coal mines in Shanxi Province is only 10%-20%. Cumulatively over the course of the past 20 years (1980–2000) China has wasted upwards of 28 gigatons of coal. The same causes for a low rate of recovery in coal mining—that extraction methods are backwards—lead to safety problems in China's coal mining sector. Another reason for the low rate of recovery is that the majority of extraction comes from small-scale mining; of the 346.9 gigatons of coal extracted by China, only 98 gigatons has come from large or mid-sized mines while 250 gigatons are extracted from small mines. Based on coal production in 2005 of 2.19 gigatons and a current rate of recovery of 30%, if China were able to double its rate of recovery it would save approximately 3.5 gigatons of coal.

On April 13, 2007, the Department of Science, Technology and Education of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture hosted the Asian regional workshop on adaptation to climate change organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate change will affect Asian countries in different but consistently negative ways. Temperate regions will experience changes in boreal forest cover, while vanishing mountain glaciers will cause problems such as water shortages and increased risks of glacial lake flooding. Coastal zones are under increasing risk from sea level rises as well as pollution and overexploitation of natural resources. In 2006 in China storms, floods, heat and drought killed more than 2700 people; effects ranged from drought in the southwest of China, which were the worst since records began to be kept in the late 19th century, to floods and typhoons in central and southeastern China. The weather events in China in 2006 were seen to be a prelude to weather patterns likely to become more common due to global warming. Topics discussed by representatives of Asian countries and developed countries, international organizations and nongovernmental organizations, included vulnerability assessments, implementing adaptation actions in various sectors of the economy and in specific geographical areas, such as coastal and mountainous regions.

Based on a recently completed survey in 2007, the Standardization Administration of China plans to further develop and improve standards for conservation and comprehensive utilization of natural resources in the following areas: energy, water, wood and land conservation, development of renewable energy, the comprehensive utilization of mineral resources, recovery, recycling and reuse of scrap materials and clean production.

Energy production and consumption

In 2011, China produced 70% of its energy from coal, emitted more carbon dioxide than the next two largest emitters combined (the U.S.A. and India) and emissions had been increasing by 10% a year.

In 2011, China produced 6% of its energy from hydroelectric, <1% from nuclear, and 1% from other renewable energy sources.

Chinese energy experts are estimating that by 2050 the percentage of China's energy requirements that are satisfied by coal-fired plants will have declined to 30-50% of total energy consumption and that the remaining 50-70% will be provided by a combination of oil, natural gas, and renewable energy sources, including hydropower, nuclear power, biomass, solar energy, wind energy, and other renewable energy sources.

In 2007, transportation's share of crude oil consumption in China is approximately 35%, but that by 2020 consumption of crude oil for transportation purposes will have increased to 50% of total crude oil consumption.

According to a study conducted by the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission on the economic circumstances of China's crude oil and chemical industry as of 2007, in recent years China has wasted an average of 400 megatons of coal equivalents per year. In 2006, China consumed a total of 2.46 gigatons coal equivalents, up from 1.4 gigatons of coal equivalents consumed nationwide in 2000. With energy consumption increasing at the rate of 10%/year, in the last 5 years total energy consumption has exceeded the combined amount of energy consumption over the previous 20 years. According to Dai Yande, the chairman of the Energy Research Institute of the NDRC, while continued high consumption of energy is unavoidable, China must take steps to change the form of its economic growth and increase substantially the energy efficiency of Chinese industry and society generally. Among other things China should find new points of economic development that moves China away from being the "World's Factory" and improves energy efficiency. China also must avoid unnecessary waste, foster a sustainable economy and encourage renewable energy sources to reduce China's reliance on petrochemical energy resources.

Since June 2006 when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the Shenhua Group's coal liquefaction project and expressed that coal-to-liquids production was one important part of China's energy security, there have been many new ‘coal to oil' projects announced by many large coal producing provinces and cities. As of the end of 2006 there will 88 methyl alcohol projects planned; the total capacity of these projects is 48.5 megatons/year. If all of these projects are built, by 2010 output of methyl alcohol will reach 60 megatons/year. This development rush to build coal to oil projects is giving rise to concerns about a new round of wasteful development and the unintended consequences of such rapid development; these include wasteful extraction of coal, excessive use of water (this process requires 10 tons of water for every ton of oil produced), and likely increases in the price of coal.

China and Russia are in talks to link their electric power networks so that China can purchase power from the Russian Far East to supply Northeast China (Dongbei). The benefits for China of importing power from neighboring countries include conserving domestic resources, lowering energy consumption, lessening China's dependence on imported oil (80%-90% of which must be shipped through unsafe waters) and reducing pollution discharge. China already has begun to build a 1 MV high-tension demonstration project and an 800 kV direct power transmission project and after 2010 China will have a long distance high tension, high capacity transmission line for international transmission of electric power. China also is considering connecting its power transmission lines with Mongolia and other former Soviet states that border China and specialists predict that by the year 2020 more than 4 PWh of power will be transmitted into China from neighboring states. In that year China is expected to produce 250 megatons of crude oil and be required to import approximately 350 megatons of crude oil, a reliance on exports of 60%. If China is able to import 620 TWh of power from neighbors, it will be able to reduce crude oil imports by 100 megatons. By importing electric from four or five neighboring countries China will not only reduce its dependence on imported crude oil, but also will enhance energy security by diversifying its foreign energy sources, making China less vulnerable to disruptions in supply.

In 2006 a total of 2.8344 PWh of electricity was generated in China from an installed base of 622 GW of power generating capacity; in 2006 alone an additional 105 GW of installed capacity came on line in China. Experts estimate that another 100 GW of newly installed electric power generating capacity will again come on-line in 2007, but that 2006 probably was the high-water mark for electric power capacity development in China.