Page 242 - 2019 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
P. 242
9 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
2.7 Electricity Generation
Large-scale renewable energy in Serbia. Under the terms of the US$715 million
deployment is core contract, the Chinese will build an additional 350 MW
to China’s energy transition. Although China’s electric unit at Kostolac and expand operations at a nearby
power consumption will continue to increase in the opencast mine producing lignite – the “dirtiest” coal.
long-term, its consumption increases have started to More than 70 percent of Serbia’s energy comes from coal.
decelerate since 2012. This has become a key moment Elektroprivreda Srbije, the Serbian state company with
for China’s transition to low-carbon energy and power the monopoly on electricity production, claims the new
industries. In recent years, electric power sources have plant will be in operation by 2020. China’s state-owned
become diversified, while thermal power has become Export-Import Bank is providing the majority of the
cleaner. In 2017, renewable energy encompassed 36.6 funding for Serbia’s Kostolac project. Urgewald, a Berlin-
percent of China’s total installed electric power capacity, based environmental group, calculates that Chinese
and 26.4 percent of total power generation. According companies are at present involved in plans to build about
to the Energy Production and Consumption Revolution a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around
Strategy 2016-2030, 50 percent of total electric power the world in countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Iran,
generation will be from non-fossil energy sources Vietnam and Malawi. Most of these countries have little
by 2030. Renewable energy will shift from meeting to no coal-powered generation at present. Building coal
new electricity needs to replacing existing electricity plants may end up preventing the development of other
needs that have been traditionally satisfied by thermal less polluting energy sources and lock in high emission
power productions. In recent years, annual proportion power structures for years to come. China has the cash to
of renewable energy in new installed capacities has back up its global coal campaign. Chinese state banks are
gradually increased. In 2017, renewable electric power estimated to have provided more than US$40 billion in
capacity (including mid-to-large sized hydropower) loans over the past 18 years for building coal-fired power
stood at two-thirds of the power industry’s new installed plants overseas (Cooke).
capacity. New installed solar power capacity stood at
53.1GW, half of the global new solar power capacity. At the Over half of world’s new solar capacity is in China,
same time, new installed wind power capacity stood at adding some 53 GW of capacity, equivalent to more than
15 GW, taking approximately one-fourth of its global new half the global total. The Asian giant’s total investment in
installed capacity. Additionally, hydropower and biomass renewables as of 2018—at a record $126.6 billion—was
power stood at 12.9 GW and 2.7 GW, respectively. China’s also by far the highest in the world. What really matters
power industry’s installed capacity increase remains at a is the amount of electricity generated energy. Although
significant pace, while there is a clear trend towards low- China had 139 percent more installed wind and solar
carbon power compositions (Dong et al.). capacity than the United States in 2017, it only produced
38 percent more electricity from the renewable pair. In
Background fact, China is one of the least-efficient renewable energy
generators in the world. Thus, despite being the largest
China’s energy policy can be confusing. Beijing is investor in renewable energy, China has faced an uphill
implementing ambitious renewable energy schemes at battle transitioning from coal, which still generates
home and has announced plans to reshape its energy roughly three-quarters of its power. China is simply not
sector and reduce its use of coal—by far the most very efficient at generating electricity from its renewable
polluting fossil fuel—but their overseas policy is quite assets compared to the US.
different. China Machinery Engineering Corporation
(CMEC) recently started work on a multimillion-dollar A combination of factors is at play. That includes the
project to enlarge the coal-fired Kostolac power station inferiority of Chinese wind turbines and solar panels,
242
2.7 Electricity Generation
Large-scale renewable energy in Serbia. Under the terms of the US$715 million
deployment is core contract, the Chinese will build an additional 350 MW
to China’s energy transition. Although China’s electric unit at Kostolac and expand operations at a nearby
power consumption will continue to increase in the opencast mine producing lignite – the “dirtiest” coal.
long-term, its consumption increases have started to More than 70 percent of Serbia’s energy comes from coal.
decelerate since 2012. This has become a key moment Elektroprivreda Srbije, the Serbian state company with
for China’s transition to low-carbon energy and power the monopoly on electricity production, claims the new
industries. In recent years, electric power sources have plant will be in operation by 2020. China’s state-owned
become diversified, while thermal power has become Export-Import Bank is providing the majority of the
cleaner. In 2017, renewable energy encompassed 36.6 funding for Serbia’s Kostolac project. Urgewald, a Berlin-
percent of China’s total installed electric power capacity, based environmental group, calculates that Chinese
and 26.4 percent of total power generation. According companies are at present involved in plans to build about
to the Energy Production and Consumption Revolution a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around
Strategy 2016-2030, 50 percent of total electric power the world in countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Iran,
generation will be from non-fossil energy sources Vietnam and Malawi. Most of these countries have little
by 2030. Renewable energy will shift from meeting to no coal-powered generation at present. Building coal
new electricity needs to replacing existing electricity plants may end up preventing the development of other
needs that have been traditionally satisfied by thermal less polluting energy sources and lock in high emission
power productions. In recent years, annual proportion power structures for years to come. China has the cash to
of renewable energy in new installed capacities has back up its global coal campaign. Chinese state banks are
gradually increased. In 2017, renewable electric power estimated to have provided more than US$40 billion in
capacity (including mid-to-large sized hydropower) loans over the past 18 years for building coal-fired power
stood at two-thirds of the power industry’s new installed plants overseas (Cooke).
capacity. New installed solar power capacity stood at
53.1GW, half of the global new solar power capacity. At the Over half of world’s new solar capacity is in China,
same time, new installed wind power capacity stood at adding some 53 GW of capacity, equivalent to more than
15 GW, taking approximately one-fourth of its global new half the global total. The Asian giant’s total investment in
installed capacity. Additionally, hydropower and biomass renewables as of 2018—at a record $126.6 billion—was
power stood at 12.9 GW and 2.7 GW, respectively. China’s also by far the highest in the world. What really matters
power industry’s installed capacity increase remains at a is the amount of electricity generated energy. Although
significant pace, while there is a clear trend towards low- China had 139 percent more installed wind and solar
carbon power compositions (Dong et al.). capacity than the United States in 2017, it only produced
38 percent more electricity from the renewable pair. In
Background fact, China is one of the least-efficient renewable energy
generators in the world. Thus, despite being the largest
China’s energy policy can be confusing. Beijing is investor in renewable energy, China has faced an uphill
implementing ambitious renewable energy schemes at battle transitioning from coal, which still generates
home and has announced plans to reshape its energy roughly three-quarters of its power. China is simply not
sector and reduce its use of coal—by far the most very efficient at generating electricity from its renewable
polluting fossil fuel—but their overseas policy is quite assets compared to the US.
different. China Machinery Engineering Corporation
(CMEC) recently started work on a multimillion-dollar A combination of factors is at play. That includes the
project to enlarge the coal-fired Kostolac power station inferiority of Chinese wind turbines and solar panels,
242
