9 CHINA’S PROMOTION OF WIND AND SOLAR POWER …
201
policy makers may have considered more about economic factors such
as energy supply and jobs rather than the environment, but in practice,
these no-regret policies have been functioning as efficient means to help
the country slow down its greenhouse gas emission growth and gain
competitive positions in the clean energy sector.
China institutionalized its efforts to develop clean energy capacity
through passing the groundbreaking Renewable Energy Law in 2005,
which defined renewable energy as non-fossil energy from wind energy,
solar energy, water energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, and
ocean energy, etc. (PRC Renewable Energy Law 2005, Article 2). The
Renewable Energy Law, together with its amendment, which listed the
development of renewable energy as “the preferential area for energy
development,” introduced new schemes like “cost-sharing,” a Feed-in
Tariff (FIT), “mandatory grid-connection” and “renewable portfolio
target” systems that had been successful in advancing renewables in some
European nations and US states. The law prompted the government
to utilize financial subsidies and tax incentives for the development of
renewable energy. Considering the comparable disadvantage of generating
electricity from renewable sources, the Renewable Energy Law addressed
the core issues of pricing and fee-sharing for on-grid renewable energy
through the government-set or government-guided pricing system.
In terms of promoting the production of low-carbon alternatives, the
Chinese government has been taking differentiated supportive policies
with variation in targeted growth areas in mid- and long-term plans,
which may, in the long run, profoundly change the existing structure of
the electricity generation market and the country’s energy mix which is
overwhelmed by coal burning. Non-fossil fuel sources, including hydro,
nuclear, wind and solar power, witnessed a fast growth in both production and consumption over more than two decades, playing an important
role in alleviating China’s energy shortage and achieving low-carbon
targets. From 1991 to 2016, the proportion of hydro, nuclear, wind
and solar power in China’s total energy consumption rose from 4.7 to
13.3% (National Bureau of Statistics of China 2017, p. 72). During this
period, hydropower contributed a lot more than what wind, solar and
nuclear power combined contributed to the nation’s electricity market.
By the end of 2017, China’s installed hydropower capacity was 341.2
gigawatts (GW), accounting for 19% of its total installed capacity in electricity generation that stood at 1777 GW. See Fig. 9.1 (China Electricity
Council 2018). Meanwhile, on-grid wind power made up 9% of the total
201
policy makers may have considered more about economic factors such
as energy supply and jobs rather than the environment, but in practice,
these no-regret policies have been functioning as efficient means to help
the country slow down its greenhouse gas emission growth and gain
competitive positions in the clean energy sector.
China institutionalized its efforts to develop clean energy capacity
through passing the groundbreaking Renewable Energy Law in 2005,
which defined renewable energy as non-fossil energy from wind energy,
solar energy, water energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, and
ocean energy, etc. (PRC Renewable Energy Law 2005, Article 2). The
Renewable Energy Law, together with its amendment, which listed the
development of renewable energy as “the preferential area for energy
development,” introduced new schemes like “cost-sharing,” a Feed-in
Tariff (FIT), “mandatory grid-connection” and “renewable portfolio
target” systems that had been successful in advancing renewables in some
European nations and US states. The law prompted the government
to utilize financial subsidies and tax incentives for the development of
renewable energy. Considering the comparable disadvantage of generating
electricity from renewable sources, the Renewable Energy Law addressed
the core issues of pricing and fee-sharing for on-grid renewable energy
through the government-set or government-guided pricing system.
In terms of promoting the production of low-carbon alternatives, the
Chinese government has been taking differentiated supportive policies
with variation in targeted growth areas in mid- and long-term plans,
which may, in the long run, profoundly change the existing structure of
the electricity generation market and the country’s energy mix which is
overwhelmed by coal burning. Non-fossil fuel sources, including hydro,
nuclear, wind and solar power, witnessed a fast growth in both production and consumption over more than two decades, playing an important
role in alleviating China’s energy shortage and achieving low-carbon
targets. From 1991 to 2016, the proportion of hydro, nuclear, wind
and solar power in China’s total energy consumption rose from 4.7 to
13.3% (National Bureau of Statistics of China 2017, p. 72). During this
period, hydropower contributed a lot more than what wind, solar and
nuclear power combined contributed to the nation’s electricity market.
By the end of 2017, China’s installed hydropower capacity was 341.2
gigawatts (GW), accounting for 19% of its total installed capacity in electricity generation that stood at 1777 GW. See Fig. 9.1 (China Electricity
Council 2018). Meanwhile, on-grid wind power made up 9% of the total