China plans ambitious leap forward on environment

Lawmakers in China have come up with a draft legislation aimed to provide state guarantees for the renewable energy production according to Xhinua reported on Monday.

With the draft amendment to the country's Renewable Energy Law, China would guarantee the direct purchase of an annual minimum of renewable energy production according to a Xinhua report on Monday. China is in the process of preparing a renewable energy stimulus package to increase the share of renewable energy to 15 per cent of total energy consumption by 2020.

Under the current arrangement the purchase of energy generated from renewable sources is left to state grids which negotiate with power producers.

Under the renewable energy stimulus package, the solar power generation target is set to increase fivefold by 2020, although it will still be a much smaller contributor to the power mix than wind and nuclear sources.

China has made steady progress on the environment front and analysts point to the port city of Tiajin which has been transformed into a global manufacturing hub of the world's wind power industry.

Over the past four years China's wind capacity has doubled each year and many experts seem to be optimistic of China achieving the renewable energy targets of 15 per cent by 2020. The country is also looking to reduce energy intensity per unit of GDP by 20 per cent over a five year period.

The two targets are aimed to make China, in just over a decade, the largest producer and consumer of alternative energy in the world and represent the most ambitious targets set by any country.