China Mulls Compulsory Green Energy Purchases By Grid Operators

Mardi, décembre 29th, 2009

China’s top legislature Tuesday discussed a legal amendment to require electricity grid companies to buy all the power produced by renewable energy generators, reported Xinhua.

The State Council energy department and the state power regulatory agency should supervise the purchases, said the draft amendment to the Renewable Energy Law, which was submitted to the government for its second reading.

A national plan on renewable energy development issued in 2007 set a target to increase renewable resources to supply 15 percent of its total energy consumption by 2020.

Power enterprises refusing to buy power produced by renewable energy generators will be fined up to an amount double that of the economic loss of the renewable energy company, the draft said.

However, some lawmakers said the development of renewable energy in China faced many problems such as difficulties in connecting with the grid, over-production of wind power and solar cell material, and a lack of innovative key technologies.

They suggested that revision of the law should focus on prevention of blind development of renewable energy.

Of various types of renewable energy in China, lawmakers said, hydropower’s quality and technology was the best. They suggested to further standardize hydropower development.

Other lawmakers said the country should support the development of biomass energy using crop straw so as to improve ecological environment and farmers’ income.

Source : Konaxis



Siemens invests EUR60 Million wind turbine plant in China

Samedi, juin 6th, 2009
Siemens AG is expanding its global manufacturing network for wind turbine plants and is building a EUR60 million rotor blade and nacelle production facility in Lingang New City in Shanghai. The new  facility is scheduled to begin  operations in the second half of 2010,  with 400 employees.

The wind turbines  produced in Shanghai will be for both  the domestic and export markets.

With an initial planned capacity of  500 MW annually, the new production site will have a total space of 180,000 square meters  at an excellent location for shipping  since it is  close to  the  Yang Shan deep-sea harbor. Siemens will initially produce blades for 2.3 megawatt and 3.6 MW wind turbine plants.

Siemens, which will be participating in the forthcoming EXPO 2010, will manufacture the items for display in the new plant.

Wind turbine plants are an important component of the Siemens environmental portfolio, which earned the company revenues of nearly EUR19 billion in fiscal 2008, roughly a quarter of Siemens total revenues.

Siemens is at  the right place because with total installed capacity of 12million kilowatts, China has become the world’s fourth country in wind power-installed capacity, according to  a government official.

« Concerning wind power-installed capacity, China is next only to the United States, France and Spain, » Lu Yanchang, vice chairman of the China Science and Technology Association, made the above remarks at the fifth China Energy Strategy Forum.

Lu  added that the country had built more than 200 wind power plants as of 2008, with 12.8 billion kwh electricity generated.

China’s total wind power has accounted for 1.5 percent of country’s total installed electricity capacity.

Furthermore, China is planning a stimulus package worth 440 billion dollars to expand its renewable energy use, state media said, as the country aims to rely more on cleaner ways to power its growth.

The three trillion yuan (439.7 billion dollars) investment will see part of the focus on wind power which will  reach over 100 gigawatts by 2020, the report said, more than triple a goal of 30 gigawatts announced in 2007 in a renewable energy development plan.

Zhou Xi’an, a director general at the State Energy Administration, said that  the new plan would be submitted to the State Council, or Cabinet, for approval, with a result expected soon.

China is one  of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters alongside the United States, depending on coal for nearly 70 percent of its total energy consumption.

The country has set a goal to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent and pollution by 10 percent by 2010 from levels in 2005.

Source : Konaxis