New Energy Finance Ltd and the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA) have jointly released the 'Top Ten Renewable Energy Developments in China in 2007' at the CREIA's annual meeting in Beijing.
The developments include:
1. China releases the Medium to Long Term Renewable Energy Development Plan, setting firm targets for all major renewable energy sectors for 2010 and 2020 respectively.
2. China implements a detailed plan to compensate grid companies for the extra cost of purchasing renewable power via a quota exchange system.
3. China reforms the bidding system for the fifth round national concession wind projects to discourage cutthroat price competition. Project developers who field bids closest to the average bid now score highest in the price evaluation section. On a provincial level, Guangdong becomes the first province in China to set a fixed feed-in tariff for wind power at CNY 0.68 ($0.09588) per kWh.
4. PV cell production in China (not including Taiwan Province) exceeds the US in 2007, becoming third in the world behind Japan and Germany.
5. China makes a breakthrough in installations of domestically manufactured wind turbines in 2007. Wind turbines from domestic manufacturers account for 56% of all installed turbines in China in 2007, exceeding those made by foreign and joint-venture companies for the first time.
6. China's first thousand-tonne polysilicon plant is commissioned in Leshan, Sichuan province, marking the beginning of the mass production of this raw material in the country.
7. Installed wind capacity in China reaches 6GW at the end of 2007. One quarter of this or 1.5GW is installed in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, making it China's first province/region to have more than 1GW installed.
8. China kicks off development of grid-connected utility scale PV projects with the NDRC and Ministry of Finance implementing a joint effort to build larger than 5MW (inclusive) solar PV plants in western China.
9. Jinan, in Shandong province, hosts the first central government sponsored National Solar Heat Use Congress in China, which aims to popularise the installation of solar water heaters in buildings across the country.
10. China halts the approval of new grain-based bioethanol projects and enacts policies to encourage non-grain biofuels development.
