China to invest $361 billion into renewable power generation by 2020

Posted by: Kalyani.rc // Passive House / Sustainability Enthusiast

China will invest 2.5 trillion yuan ($361 billion) into renewable power generation by 2020, as the world's largest energy market continues to shift away from dirty coal power towards cleaner fuels.

The investment will create over 13 million jobs in the sector, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said in a blueprint document that lays out its plan to develop the nation's energy sector during the five-year 2016 to 2020 period. The NEA said, installed renewable power capacity including the wind, hydro, solar and nuclear power will contribute to about half of new electricity generation by 2020.

The investment reflects Beijing's continued focus on curbing the use of fossil fuels, which have fostered the country's economic growth over the past decade, as it ramps up its war on pollution.

Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's economic planner, said in its own five-year plan, that solar power will receive 1 trillion yuan of spending, as the country seeks to boost capacity by five times. That's equivalent to about 1,000 major solar power plants, according to experts' estimates.

The spending comes as the cost of building large-scale solar plants has dropped by as much as 40 percent since 2010. China became the world's top solar generator last year. Some 700 billion yuan will go towards wind farms, 500 billion to hydropower with tidal and geothermal getting the rest, the NDRC said.

Concerns about the social and economic costs of China's air pollution have increased as the northern parts of the country, including the capital Beijing, have battled a weeks-long bout of hazardous smog.

Illustrating the enormity of the challenge, the NEA repeated that renewables will still only account for just 15 percent of overall energy consumption by 2020, equivalent to 580 million tons of coal. More than half of the nation's installed power capacity will still be fueled by coal over the same period.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-energy-renewables-idUSKBN14P06P