China to unveil ‘new energy’ plan

CHINA: Coal-dependent China will unveil a plan to foster the development of ‘new energy’ sources, including wind, solar and nuclear, by the end of this year, state media on Monday quoted a senior energy policy official as saying.

Sun Qin, vice head of the National Energy Administration (NEA), told a forum in southern Guangzhou city that a guide for developing energy technologies would also be released, but gave no further details. The development and utilisation of clean coal technologies would be an important part in the ‘new energy’ plan, Sun was quoted as saying.

China has long been seeking to diversify away from coal, which currently provides over 70 percent of its power, but produces large amounts of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and pollutants like acid-rain causing sulphur dioxide.

Boosting the role of other hydrocarbons such as gas and oil means increasing imports, which causes energy security worries in Beijing.

It also does little to improve the emissions profile of a country which recently became the world’s biggest annual producer of greenhouse gases.

The government has been pushing for greener growth for several years, and has recently stepped up backing for renewable power with new tariffs for wind power and an ambitious plan to increase installed capacity to 100 GW by 2020, and subsidies for solar energy. It has long poured resources into hydropower.

Beijing has committed to making renewable energy 10 percent of China’s primary energy mix by 2010, and 15 percent by 2020, though much of it will be from giant dams like the Three Gorges. Beijing, Monday, Reuters