Renewable Energy-China
China is actively seeking alternative energy sources in wind, solar, biofuels, tidal, small hydroelectric dams, and decentralized small-scale energy technologies.
According to a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO), 7 of the world's 10 most polluted cities are in China and almost 2/3’s of the country's largest cities fail to meet the organization's air quality standards. With its use of unwashed coal, China is the planet's largest emitter of sulfur dioxide and acid rain plagues about a quarter of the countryside. The World Bank estimates that pollution is costing the country 8-12% of its $1.4 trillion GDP in direct losses (The Economist).
China’s Ministry of Energy is setting a target of 15% of its power generation capacity coming from renewables by 2020 -- up from a mere 3% in 2003. New legislation, which took effect in 2006, will give funding and tax incentives to renewable energy projects. Almost all of these projects will come from overseas technologies, especially from the United States. According to the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), China will need 130 gigawatts at an estimated investment of $184B USD, almost all of it coming from US companies.
Below is an analysis of China’s various renewable energy programs.