Introducing our newest blogger, Abby Poats. Abby Poats is a Research Associate based in Beijing with the Washington DC-based American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) US-China Program (USCP). She also teaches English at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing through the Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship program. Her blog entries contain her personal reflections and do not reflect the views of ACORE USCP.
When juxtaposed, the words “wild” and “China” typically transport imaginations to the breathtaking lakes of Jiuzhaigou or Urumqi before invoking images of industrial development zones or solar manufacturing plants, right?
At the same time that China boasts countless natural, pristine wonders, however, its modern technological phenomena—particularly in the field of renewable energy—seek to play a key role in keeping China (and the rest of the world for that matter) beautiful.
Just yesterday, a China Daily article announced the release of a renewable energy roadmap by China’s leading energy think tank, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Energy Research Institute (ERI). The roadmap calls for one third of China’s total primary energy consumption to come from renewable energy sources by 2050, and highlighted the rapid growth of China’s wind production and solar manufacturing capacities between 2000 and 2008. Today, China is the world’s fourth largest wind power producer (behind the United States, Germany and Spain) and the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) battery module producer.
With targets like those proposed in the roadmap as well as China’s new status as the world’s second most desirable country for renewable energy project investment, the forecast for China’s renewable energy industry is mostly sunny with a strong chance of high winds.
With this in mind, my future entries aim to provide readers interested in China’s environment and specifically energy-related initiatives with clear snapshots of provinces and cities in China that are taking leadership roles in China’s clean technology development. Readers’ minds will (hopefully) get the opportunity to hop from Wuxi to Xi’an and from Ordos City to Baoding and beyond.
It is such a pleasure to join WildChina’s blog contributors and readers. I invite you to check back soon for my next entry, which will focus on the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, home to beautiful Lake Tai and a leader in solar and wind manufacturing and services.
By Abby Poats
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Photo credit: Greenpeace Southeast Asia
Abby:
Intruiging intro….easier to be a leader in renewable energy when you have a single view of the value of externalities, and an ability to scale manufactuiring to lower unit costs in order to hit financial objectives on the supply side. Would be good to know how the average Zho utilizes renewable energy and is educated about its economic applicatiions (i.e., the role of public education and programs), as there may be some lessons to be learned in more “developed” economies.