China Green?
The Chinese government says it will have 100 gigawatts of wind-power capacity by 2020 — enough to power 60 million homes.
China’s government has promised to increase their use of alternative energy, such as wind, solar and nuclear power. They want to reduce the thick air pollution that blankets their cities and to reduce expensive imports of oil. Today, renewable sources produce only 8 percent of China’s total energy consumption. Beijing plans to increase that number to 15 percent by 2020.
Companies from start-ups to well established businesses such as General Electric, see China’s drive to clear the air as an opportunity. They are hoping to capitalize on Beijing’s push to establish cleaner energy sources.
A 2005 law gives fixed rate tariffs and carbon credits to renewable-energy companies. The law also requires provinces to meet new clean energy guidelines. The law works thanks to China’s entrepreneurs and a government that is making the move to clean energy a priority.
The World Wind Energy Association says China’s wind energy capacity has doubled every year since the law was put in place, to 12 gigawatts. Wind is the fastest growing renewable energy in China, with 60 percent more capacity since 2005.
As China continues to build its renewable energy capacity, the world’s most populous nation is emphasizing that clean energy is not a luxury but a necessity for its survival. Renewable energy sources will help reduce pollution in the long term, easing Beijing’s fears of social unrest due to pollution-related illnesses. China also needs clean energy to increase its role on the global stage - a lack of natural resources make clean energy the only possibility for China to achieve energy independence.
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