Renewable Energy Potential in China

Renewable Energy Potential of China:

Making the Transition from

Coal-Fired Generation

Peter Meisen

President, Global Energy Network Institute (GENI)

www.geni.org

peter@geni.org (619) 595-0139

Steffanie Hawkins

Research Associate, Global Energy Network Institute (GENI)

shawkins1017@gmail.com

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

3

Current Energy Patterns

5

Consumption & Generation

5

Coal

7

Oil & Petroleum

10

Natural Gas

12

Renewable Energy

13

Hydropower

14

Nuclear

15

Geothermal, Solar, Wind & Biomass

16

National Grid

17

Renewable Energy Potential

19

Hydropower

19

Wind

20

Solar

24

Biomass

27

Concluding Remarks

30

2

Executive Summary

China is one of the world’s fastest growing countries in multiple aspects. China

possesses enormous potential for the development of renewable energy. The government

has recently set targets to be reached by 2010 and 2020 for installed generating capacity.

The two main sources of renewable energy for China will be from hydropower and wind

power. Hydropower (China accounts for 12% of world hydropower) is expected to reach a

capacity of 190 GW by 2010 and 300 GW by 2020. Wind, the other large source of

renewable energy, is expected to reach 10 GW by 2010 and 30 GW by 2020. Biomass is

expected to reach a capacity of 5.5 GW by 2010 and 30 GW by 2020. Solar is expected to

reach 300 MW by 2010 and 1.8 GW by 2020. These are reasonable goals for China, but

there still remains more potential for the country.

This potential is against a backdrop of significant need for renewables. In 2006,

China became the world’s largest polluter passing the US, emitting 6,200 million tons of

carbon dioxide. According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA), in 2004, China

accounted for 17% of world total carbon dioxide emissions, with an expected increase to

40% of the world total between 2005 and 2030, if current energy trends...