China draws up plans for national renewable energy center

By Wan Zhihong and Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-10 10:36

China plans to build a national renewable energy center to further support development of the industry, an energy official said yesterday.

The center will be responsible for policy-making, key project and program management, market and industrial operations, database and information platform establishment and international exchange program coordination, Han Wenke, director general of Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, said yesterday.

The establishment of the center is still in the preliminary planning stages, Han said at the launch of the Sino-Danish Renewable Energy Development Program.

The Danish government will invest 100 million Danish krone (130 million yuan) in the program, which is slated to last until 2013.

The combination of Denmark's sector experience and China's strong economic position offer a good starting point for the program.

"The project is set to combine the advantages of the two countries and promote renewable energy development fast and well in China," said Danish Minister of Climate Change and Energy Lykke Friis.

Some Danish companies have already made large financial commitments to China. Vestas, a world leader in wind power equipment manufacturing said last year its investment in China would exceed 3 billion yuan by the end of 2009. The company's rapid growth in the country is in line with the strong growth of China's wind energy sector, according to the company.

China made great progress in renewable energy growth last year. It accounted for 7.5 percent of the country's primary energy consumption in 2009 - or the equivalent of 230 million tons of coal, said Liu Qi, National Energy Administration vice-director.

"No matter what happens with international climate change negotiations, reducing fossil fuel consumption and developing renewable energy will be the best way to ensure a secure energy supply," said Liu.

"The target of reducing carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent in 2020, based on 2005 emissions, will depend more on the development of renewable energy," he said.

China has become the third largest producer of wind power in the world and is responsible for around 40 percent of the output of the world's solar photovoltaics.

Photovoltaics or PVs are arrays of cells containing a solar photovoltaic material that converts solar radiation into electricity.

Renewable energy is helping China complete its economic transformation and achieve energy security, said analysts.