China's legislators support renewable energy

China's legislators on Monday called for greater support for the development of renewable energy industry which is facing obstacles in planning, purchase system, subsidies and technology. [Photo / Xinhua]

BEIJING -- China's legislators on Monday called for greater support for the development of renewable energy industry which is facing obstacles in planning, purchase system, subsidies and technology.

Development of renewable energy must be a priority, with clear goals, as China is suffering poor energy structure, environmental pollution and ecological degradation, said Chen Changzhi, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislative body.

Development of renewable energy has contributed to China's economic and social development and improved people's lives, said Chen.

Renewable energy prices and subsidies should be improved and innovation encouraged, he said in a report to the committee's bimonthly session.

Chen has led a working group to assess the implementation of the Law on Renewable Energy, an important way for the top legislature to exercise supervision.

Generating capacity from renewable energy reached 20 percent of total capacity by the end of 2012, up 4 percentage points from 2005: solar power produced 6.5 million kilowatts (KW), hydroelectric 249 million KW, and wind power 63 million KW.

Despite progress, the delegation found planning in some regions did not follow the national program and the full-amount purchase system for electricity generated by renewable energy has not been fully implemented.

Under the full-amount system, the government commits to buying all electricity generated by renewable energy, but with poor implementation, about 17 percent of the wind generation capacity was abandoned in 2012 due to transmission and consumption problems.

China has been promoting the use of renewable energy due to growing energy demand and environmental concerns. The national plan on renewable energy set a target of 15 percent of total energy consumption by 2020 coming from renewable sources.