Chemistry World Magazine reports that the Chinese government is launching a plan that aims to get 15% of the country’s energy from renewable sources by the year 2020:
Currently, renewables account for under 7.5 per cent of China’s energy supplies while 70 per cent comes from coal. If the country – the world’s second-largest carbon dioxide emitter – hits its 2010 target, it will emit 600 million tons less carbon dioxide a year than it would based on current projections. By 2020, that figure would be 1.2 billion tons.
Annual hydropower generation capacity is projected to increase from 170 million kilowatts in 2005 to 300 million kilowatts in 2020, the output of plant-based ethanol from 1.02 million tons to 10 million tons, and wind power generating capacity from 1.26 million kilowatts to 30 million kilowatts. [Full text]
