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Clean Energy? Go to China

According to Juliet Eilperin in an article in the Washington Post of 30 September 2010 ("China leading the world in clean energy investment”), China’s emphasis on developing clean energy sources has rattled some of its economic competitors and could transform the global energy marketplace. In 2009, China surpassed the United States and other members of the G-20 for the first time as the leader in clean energy investment as the country spent $34.6 billion on clean energy investments, compared with $18.6 billion in the United States. Chinese officials also announced they will spend $75 billion a year on clean energy. In China, the policy has become very aggressive. The Chinese believe new technologies have to be developed to solve the pollution problem. Put simply, China is trying to change the system of how it uses and produces energy. China has decided to cut its carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product by at least 40% by 2020 from 2005 levels.

In contrast to the United States, where a major change in energy policy usually means a lengthy legislative or regulatory battle, central government officials in China can make sweeping changes to their nation’s energy landscape quickly. They are ramping up the number of nuclear power plants, installing high-speed rail systems, and developing low-carbon cities, all without ballot initiatives and legislative debates. The key decision makers in China have much more power than in the United States and their decisions trickle from Beijing down through the whole legislative system all the way down to the villages.

In 2009, China installed wind technology that produced 13.8 GW, compared with America’s 10 GW, and the gap is expected to widen. China is projected to have installed capacity to produce about 14 GW in 2010 — an amount that could provide power to millions of homes. However, in the United States, the amount of new wind energy capacity installed in 2010 dropped between 25 and 45% from the previous year.

Second Generation Biofuels and Biomass: Essential Guide for Investors, Scientists and Decision Makers, First Edition. Roland A. Jansen. r 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Published 2013 by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

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