The China Environment News Digest points to an article on Mongabay.com about the potentially bright future of wind power in China [Link]:
Wind could become China’s second-largest source of electricity according to a Chinese energy expert. Wang Weicheng, an energy professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told reporters that China has the potential to install up to 100 gigawatts of wind power.He added that wind power could surpass nuclear stations as a source of energy within 20 to 30 years.
Wang’s comments come as China has been aggressively expanding its interests in renewable energy sources including wind, solar, biofuels, tidal, and small hydroelectric dams.
In February 2005, the government passed a renewable energy law that both requires power operators to buy electricity from alternative energy providers and provides economic incentives to such producers. China is striving to reduce its dependence on traditional coal, which supplies 65-70% of the country’s energy needs but is responsible for a number of its energy-related environmental problems…The World Bank estimates that pollution is costing the country 8-12% of its $1.4 trillion GDP in direct losses.
Specialist websites appear to be jumping in on the wind power story. The Auto Channel has posted a news release about a mysterious “geospatial toolkit” developed by the U.S. EPA to help develop wind power in Hebei.
Meanwhile, the head of a Beijing-based green investment firm is quoted in an article on Renewable Energy Access as predicting good things for investments in clean energy technology:
[China Environment Fund’s] Ye expects to see more solar issues as clean technology IPO issues from China pickup. “One reason the solar PV market is going well is because the government has given it lots of subsidies.” Chinese wind technology, such as advanced blades, is another market benefiting from subsidies and expected to “quickly” pick up over the next couple of years…
Technorati Tags: air pollution, China, wind power
