Muenster, January 13, 2012 - China is well on
the way to becoming one of the world's leading consumers of
renewables.
According to China National Radio (CNR), the Chinese National
Energy Board has announced that targets for the rollout of
renewables are to be raised to a new record level, reported the
IWR, a renewable energy institute in Muenster. The basis is the
country's
2011-2015 five-year plan. The Chinese government now intends to
raise wind energy output from 40,000 megawatts (MW) to a total of
100,000 MW by 2015, including 5,000 MW of offshore capacity.
According to the latest figures, China and the US are currently
neck-and-neck in the global ranking with a respective installed
wind capacity of around 50,000 MW, ahead of Germany (28,000 MW),
Spain (21,000 MW) and India (16,000 MW).
China plans to increase photovoltaic (PV) output to a total of
15,000 MW by 2015. The global solar installation ranking is
currently headed by Germany, with an installed capacity of 17,300
MW (2011).
"China appears to have raised its targets for solar energy
production due to concerns about its domestic industry," said IWR
Director Dr. Norbert Allnoch. The fall in the price of photovoltaic
power facilities has caused many Chinese solar companies to fall
into the red, with their share prices plummeting by 60-80% last
year.
The significant squeeze on margins is also putting pressure on
exports, says Allnoch. With their current domestic production
facilities Chinese solar companies could manufacture solar modules
with an output of 20,000 MW every year.
The increase in the expansion targets on the Chinese
domestic market to around 3,000 MW per year pushes up the
utilisation rate to 15% of Chinese domestic PV production
capacity.
For the first time in its highly successful 22-year history,
the GLOBE Conference and Trade
Fair, taking place March 14-16, 2012 in
Vancouver wll include a large national pavilion by
the People's Republic of China. Get More
information on GLOBE 2012 here