Page 224 - 2020 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
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0 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
2.7 Electricity Generation
Key Take-Aways 1.87 trillion kilowatt hours (kWh), 170 billion kWh
higher than the previous year. Renewable energy
Renewables account for generated 26.7 percent of the total power, up 0.2
more than 38 percentage point year-on-year. That amounted
percent of overall capacity as China tries to wean to 38.3 percent of China’s total installed power
itself off coal. capacity, up 1.7 percentage points on the year and
around 7 percentage points higher than at the end
China’s growing renewable energy supply will of 2015 (Zheng, Nation Switches).
allow it to become more energy independent,
and, will put it in a very influential position as the A lot of China’s energy still comes from fossil fuel
world’s renewable energy superpower. sources like coal (60.4 percent in 2017) and crude
oil (18.8 percent the same year). Renewable energy
China plans to invest US$12 billion in new helps battle air and water pollution. Seven of the
reactors for first time since 2016. The plan will world’s ten most polluted cities are found in China,
end a three-year hiatus in China’s nuclear reactor and the fallout from pollution makes for harrowing
construction and boost the country’s nuclear reading. Air pollution led to an estimated 1.6 million
export ambitions as China did not approve any new deaths in China in 2012, accounting for roughly 17
reactor from 2016 to 2018, partly due to the slow percent of all deaths in the country. Calculations
progress in the use of advanced and safer third- indicate that China could be able to lower CO2
generation reactors. emissions by 1.5 billion tons with the pursuit of a
green energy strategy and will generate 720,000
Coal remains the primary energy fuel in China, new jobs at the same time. China has outpaced all
and more coal powered plants are once again other countries when it comes to the production
being approved. Although China is a superpower of renewables, and the same goes for renewable
when it comes to renewable energy, it remains the energy patents. As of 2016, Chinese companies
world’s greatest polluter. and organizations had 150,000 renewable energy
patents, equal to 29 percent of the global total
Background and 50,000 more than the US in second place.
In 2017, Chinese companies and organizations
In 2010, China surpassed the US and became the filed a total of 76 percent of all renewable energy
world’s biggest consumer of energy. Investments in patents. Among them are some ambitious ideas
renewable energy production are a way of lowering that are, quite literally, currently unfeasible.
dependence on imports from other countries. By the Perhaps none more so than the idea to build a
end of 2018, China’s installed capacity for renewable solar power station in space, beaming back energy
energy reached 728,000 megawatts (MW), up 12 to the earth as microwaves. According to China’s
percent on a year-on-year basis. It took up 38.3 Ministry of Science and Technology, scientists are
percent of the total installed capacity, growing 1.7 already testing the technology and intend to have
percentage points year-on-year, demonstrating it constructed by 2050. One of the challenges
that the alternative role of renewable energy has facing renewables in China is the sheer size of the
become increasingly important. According to the country; much of its energy production potential is
National Energy Administration (NEA), in 2018, located in the north and northwest, while most of
power generated by renewable energy totaled the population is in the east and southeast. This is
one of the reasons why China is currently building
224
2.7 Electricity Generation
Key Take-Aways 1.87 trillion kilowatt hours (kWh), 170 billion kWh
higher than the previous year. Renewable energy
Renewables account for generated 26.7 percent of the total power, up 0.2
more than 38 percentage point year-on-year. That amounted
percent of overall capacity as China tries to wean to 38.3 percent of China’s total installed power
itself off coal. capacity, up 1.7 percentage points on the year and
around 7 percentage points higher than at the end
China’s growing renewable energy supply will of 2015 (Zheng, Nation Switches).
allow it to become more energy independent,
and, will put it in a very influential position as the A lot of China’s energy still comes from fossil fuel
world’s renewable energy superpower. sources like coal (60.4 percent in 2017) and crude
oil (18.8 percent the same year). Renewable energy
China plans to invest US$12 billion in new helps battle air and water pollution. Seven of the
reactors for first time since 2016. The plan will world’s ten most polluted cities are found in China,
end a three-year hiatus in China’s nuclear reactor and the fallout from pollution makes for harrowing
construction and boost the country’s nuclear reading. Air pollution led to an estimated 1.6 million
export ambitions as China did not approve any new deaths in China in 2012, accounting for roughly 17
reactor from 2016 to 2018, partly due to the slow percent of all deaths in the country. Calculations
progress in the use of advanced and safer third- indicate that China could be able to lower CO2
generation reactors. emissions by 1.5 billion tons with the pursuit of a
green energy strategy and will generate 720,000
Coal remains the primary energy fuel in China, new jobs at the same time. China has outpaced all
and more coal powered plants are once again other countries when it comes to the production
being approved. Although China is a superpower of renewables, and the same goes for renewable
when it comes to renewable energy, it remains the energy patents. As of 2016, Chinese companies
world’s greatest polluter. and organizations had 150,000 renewable energy
patents, equal to 29 percent of the global total
Background and 50,000 more than the US in second place.
In 2017, Chinese companies and organizations
In 2010, China surpassed the US and became the filed a total of 76 percent of all renewable energy
world’s biggest consumer of energy. Investments in patents. Among them are some ambitious ideas
renewable energy production are a way of lowering that are, quite literally, currently unfeasible.
dependence on imports from other countries. By the Perhaps none more so than the idea to build a
end of 2018, China’s installed capacity for renewable solar power station in space, beaming back energy
energy reached 728,000 megawatts (MW), up 12 to the earth as microwaves. According to China’s
percent on a year-on-year basis. It took up 38.3 Ministry of Science and Technology, scientists are
percent of the total installed capacity, growing 1.7 already testing the technology and intend to have
percentage points year-on-year, demonstrating it constructed by 2050. One of the challenges
that the alternative role of renewable energy has facing renewables in China is the sheer size of the
become increasingly important. According to the country; much of its energy production potential is
National Energy Administration (NEA), in 2018, located in the north and northwest, while most of
power generated by renewable energy totaled the population is in the east and southeast. This is
one of the reasons why China is currently building
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