Ministry readies 8.6b yuan to support renewable energy

The Ministry of Finance said it will pay 8.6 billion yuan (US$1.38 billion) in subsidies for power generated from renewable sources this year.
The money will be paid through provincial financial bureaus to grid companies which are required to purchase clean electricity at above-market tariffs, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website today.
Of the funds for this year, 5.85 billion yuan will go to wind power, 723 million yuan to solar power, and 2.02 billion yuan to power generated from biomass, it said.
China is encouraging the development of renewable energy to help meet the government's five-year target of reducing carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 17 percent by 2015.