At present, China produces just over 6 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy, making it 5th in the world for total wind energy. (Germany leads with 22.2 GW.) However, with China’s massive push for 21st Century renewable technologies, we shouldn’t be surprised if China achieves 100 GW by 2020 say energy experts.
China is already outpacing its own wind energy goals.
Officially, China’s latest renewable energy plan sets a goal of 10 GW by 2010. That’s double the previous target. However, according to industry analysts at China Strategies LLC, China’s current pace of wind development will bring 10 GW by the end of this year, two years ahead of schedule. According to China Strategies, 20 GW is possible in China by 2010. What’s more, they foresee a total of 100 GW by 2020, an increase in wind energy of 1667%. And, they add, this may be a conservative estimate.
These figures should make critics of China’s energy policies think twice. On the one hand, China still relies heavily on polluting coal to power its factories and make the inexpensive goods that many people have come to expect. On the other hand, China is making significant strides to adopt renewable energy technologies.
The China Economic Review quotes Richard Spencer of the World Bank, who worked on one $13 million wind project as saying, “China is working very hard to reduce its dependence on coal, and it looks to nuclear, hydro and wind, particularly, to replace coal. Wind is very important.”
How will China make the switch to clean energy? One answer was the 2005 Renewable Energy Law, which required utilities to buy renewable energy. Such legislation is an important part of the answer. Similar legislation in California has encouraged major investment in wind and solar. But an underlying question remains: can China continue its recent rate of growth in the renewable energy field?
If so, the Middle Kingdom is poised to increase its percentage of wind energy from less than one percent to about 20% by 2020 says Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, in the China Economic Review. For those keeping track of the economic competition between the US and China, that would set China dramatically ahead of the US goal of 5-6% by 2020.
