China moves forward on green energy

BEIJING — Su Wenhui, a civil servant in eastern China's Jiangsu province, gained a 16 percent annual rate of return on her investment in a roof in 2015.

Su spent over 30,000 yuan (about $4,450) to have a photovoltaic (PV) power station built on her rooftop. And it has started to pay off.

"The station generates about 4,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year, twice as much as I consume. So I sold the other half," she said. "The investment has brought me 5,000 yuan, including government subsidies and power selling."

Su is among the beneficiaries from Yangzhong city's first batch of demonstration projects in PV application, which have encouraged plenty of residents to choose green energy.

A complete industrial chain has taken shape in this city of 300,000 people, and Yangzhong now has more than 2,000 households installing PV power stations.

New energy has become the city's second largest industry, with an industrial output value of 25.19 billion yuan last year. Green energy in the city is expected to make up one-third of total energy consumption by 2020, and 100 percent by 2030.

Yangzhong was listed as a model city in renewable energy application by China's energy administration last year. It epitomizes the country's efforts to build a green society.

China generated 4.17 trillion kWh of power over the first eight months of the year, about 74 percent of which is thermal electricity generated by coal-fired capacity, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The country has been promoting green resources such as wind and solar in recent years. Green development is one of the five development concepts outlined by the country in 2015, along with innovation, coordination, opening up and sharing.

China has itself dedicated to raising public environmental awareness, and encouraging economical, green and healthy lifestyles.

Renewable energy is an emerging industry in China, significant to ensuring energy security and optimizing energy structure.

By the end of July, the installed capacity of renewable energy topped 620 gigawatts (gW), accounting for 35 percent of China's total installed power generation capacity, according to Liang Zhipeng, vice director of the New Energy and Renewable Energy Department under the National Energy Administration.

In the first seven months of this year, the increased installed capacity of renewable energy amounted to 50 million kW, about 75 percent of China's total increased installed power generation capacity.

Currently, the installed capacity of hydropower, wind power and PV has reached 338 gW, 150 gW and 100 gW respectively, all ranking first in the world, Liang said.

China has become the world's largest green energy supplier, also taking the lead in PV development and making great contribution to the global energy transformation, said Li Junfeng, with the China Energy Research Society.

From 2010 to 2016, the global share of green energy increased to 32 percent from 12 percent, with China's share of renewable resources climbing from 1 percent to almost 5 percent, according to Yang Lei, senior advisor with the International Energy Agency.

China's investment in the green energy sector reached $87.8 billion last year, ranking first in the world, and revenues of key listed new energy enterprises in the country steadily increased, with total profits reaching a five-year high, according to a report released by China Economic Information Service.

"More cities will choose renewable energy in the future, making China's green market a promising one," Liang Zhipeng said.