China launches new renewable energy scheme for rural areas
China is advancing plans to accelerate the already rapid deployment of renewable energy by developing clean energy in rural areas, according to a new action plan unveiled Thursday by authorities.
China's provincial governments will have to identify "pilot counties," areas they consider suitable for renewable energy development, and submit development plans to the National Energy Administration (NEA) by the end of May, the NEA (National Energy Administration, in English, the body that administers energy in China) in a statement reported by Reuters.
China is unrivaled in renewable energy spending globally, investing to boost solar and wind power generation.
Wind and solar power generation in China has increased in recent years to nearly equal domestic electricity consumption, but the relatively small share of domestic demand in overall consumption means China still needs plenty of fossil fuels.
In 2022, China's wind and solar power generation increased by 21 percent to 1,190 terawatt hours (TWh), according to NEA data cited by Bloomberg. For comparison, residential electricity demand increased by 14% last year to 1,340 TWh as people mostly stayed at home due to the zero-Covid policy.
Despite the increase in wind and solar power installations and production in China, Chinese industry accounts for about 60 percent of all electricity demand, according to Bloomberg estimates. Residential demand, on the other hand, accounts for only 17% of electricity consumption in 2020.
China is accelerating the ramp-up of solar and wind power generation capacity and is likely to meet its 2030 renewable energy target sooner than expected, the South China Morning Post reported earlier this year. At least 30 Chinese provinces have presented more ambitious renewable energy installation plans.
Renewable energy installations in China to continue to experience robust growth this year, after capacity jump in 2022, thanks to strong demand, lower feedstock costs and low base effect for wind power , Fitch Ratings said in a February report.
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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-lancia-un-nuovo-schema-per-le-energie-rinnovabili-per-le-aree-rurali/ on Fri, 24 Mar 2023 08:00:05 +0000.