the quest for clean energy: china's green revolution - solar street lighting system

Desert winds drive turbines in huge wind farms on the outskirts of Urumqi, the dusty capital of the North --
Xinjiang in western China, Japan-
Travelers come here from the city to shoot spectacular scenes in the deserted wilderness.
On the way, White.
In a village of Uighurs in Central Asia, dome houses use solar energy to provide energy.
In Gansu province, officials announced plans to build the world's largest solar power station as part of efforts to ease China's reliance on coal. In fast-
Shanghai is the largest city in China and a financial center in China, with thousands of householders heating water for morning showers using solar panels.
At the same time in the capital, Beijing, when China announced the first "green" Olympics in 2008, plans to use renewable energy to meet most of the city's electricity needs have been advanced.
Beijing plans to build a "solar street" where buildings and street lights will run entirely on the energy of the sun.
Green is fashionable in China now, and even the government is paying attention.
But is this the same China, notorious for its dirty rivers and toxic skies?
Almost all of the world's most polluted cities are in China, and other urban centers such as Los Angeles are also affected by pollution from Chinese factories.
The concept of green China seems ridiculous, especially when you see other headlines from China.
Strong economic growth led to a sharp increase in emissions of major pollutants in the first half of this year.
In fact, Beijing's air pollution has become so severe this week that it has reached a "dangerous" level in the government's air quality index.
The city was shrouded in fog, with visibility reduced to several hundred metres, 80 flights delayed and some highways closed.
From July to September, in Beijing and 15 other major cities, one was listed as contaminated every three days.
China's energy needs are met by coal, from 10 days a week.
Opening a power plant somewhere in China has exacerbated environmental problems in China.
China is second in the world.
The largest oil consumer after the United States.
But China is vigorously developing renewable energy and reducing pollution.
For good financial and political reasons.
Oil is too expensive and the government wants to use alternative energy to reduce China's dependence on oil.
People who are highly polluting cities often complain that their children have nowhere to avoid bad air, and they worry about what it all means for their health.
Farmers make trouble and hold demonstrations because of pollution and damage to crops, making environmental harm a potential source of political instability, which the ruling Communist Party refuses to tolerate.
State Environmental Protection Administration General Administration of environmental supervision of China (Sepa)
In September, he said China's pollution cost was £ 34 in 2004, accounting for about the year's GDP.
This year, Chinese leaders introduced laws in a truly pragmatic way, setting a goal of doubling the use of alternative energy.
By 2020, China's energy demand will be met from renewable energy sources, and green energy production will increase to 10 gigawatts by 2010 and 30 gigawatts by 2020.
"I am very optimistic about the outlook for renewable energy.
In China, the introduction of renewable energy is a good strategy for industrial development. it is not part of climate change.
Change the debate, "said Dr. Eric Martinot, senior American researcher --
Headquartered in the Institute of World observation, senior visiting scholar of Tsinghua University.
China has invested 3 pounds.
Last year's 3bn in the renewable energy sector made it one of the world's largest investors in renewable energy, which Dr. Martinot believes is based on reasonable reasoning.
"It's a 'A' or 'B' problem in other countries, but here people say 'let's develop everything --
"We all need it, 'A', 'B' and 'C'," he said . ".
"Because ordinary people do not accept this pollution, local air pollution plays an important role in driving many of these arguments.
"There are 30 million solar households in China, which account for nearly global solar capacity.
Premier Wen Jiabao said solar energy is at the heart of his government's efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels by 20 over the next five years.
Industry leaders around the world are watching what is happening in China.
The size of the country makes it a major test ground for new technologies.
If you work in a country.
3 billion people, then it is likely to be a viable world.
China Renewable Energy Industry Association (CREIA)
Founded in 2000, it aims to promote the industry of green energy in China.
"The use of renewable energy in the environment can promote economic development --
"A friendly way, this will be a key way to balance China's economic development and environmental protection," said Li Junfeng, secretary general of CREIA.
China still has huge coal reserves, but officials are looking at the potential for renewable energy to address potential bottlenecks in faster economic growth.
Experts say the challenges facing China's environment need more than one
Multi-faceted response
In particular, wind power is particularly suitable for remote, economically underdeveloped areas such as Xinjiang and other barren provinces such as Inner Mongolia.
Meanwhile, CREIA is developing solar and biomass energy in several other provinces, including Hebei and Jiangsu.
Local government officials in Dunhuang, Gansu province said they would build the world's largest solar plant, a 100-
The £ 400 megawatt project will take five years to complete.
Dunhuang has enough sunshine and 3,362 hours of sunshine every year. it is the golden area for solar energy development.
The largest solar plant in the world is located in alnetan, near Fort Worth in southern Germany, with 12-
Megawatt capacity.
Beijing is also looking at the potential of ethanol and biodiesel.
China produced 1 billion liters of ethanol last year.
A small part of global output (
33 billion liters)
But it is growing.
China has also been helped by a number of important global players, including the World Bank and General Electric.
British companies such as BP are also involved. the Tsinghua-
BP's clean energy research and education center, launched three years ago by Tony Blair, earns £ 500,000 a year from BP.
It aims to develop clean energy technologies and advise the China National Development and Reform Commission on the use of clean energy.
The World Bank says it will work with China to study how to optimize energy use.
"With the approaching of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, we are also working on related projects, such as sustainable urban energy systems . "
Ah, yes, the Olympic Games.
In less than two years, Beijing is working hard to achieve the promise of 2008 Olympic Games to become a "Green Olympics" and to provide China with a platform to show that it is modern and progressive.
It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of the Olympic Games as a symbol of national pride and a driving force for change.
Xuanwu Park is launching a pilot project that uses solar lighting, heating and cooling.
The goal is to use solar energy in the city's street lights by 2008, which will also heat the water for bathing, according to Tian Maijiu, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress.
Wind power will provide electricity to Olympic venues and the city will provide direct investment or interest --
Free loans for key projects.
Solar energy, biomass energy and wind power development will be the three major projects of Beijing's rural ecological park. The city is also planning to build a series of recycling projects including waste incineration, hazardous waste processing plants and disposal centers.
Then there's hydro.
The diversion of the river and the relocation of millions of people for the construction of the dam have caused panic among environmental activists and human rights activists.
But the government sees it as a viable alternative to coal, and the world's largest Three Gorges Dam will produce 22.
By 2009, it was fully operational at 4 million kilowatts.
The government is also very sensitive to criticism: Fu Xiancai interviewed a German TV station on June 2006, complaining that after the relocation compensation was insufficient, he was beaten too badly and would be paralyzed for a lifetime.
Another controversial energy source is nuclear energy.
Six nuclear power plants will be built in the South-
Fujian, China's eastern province, is part of China's goal of reaching 40 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2020.
It is naive to think that China plans to become a green superpower.
Coal will continue to account for the largest share of energy demand.
But it is crucial that renewable energy will become a more important part of the entire energy supply puzzle, which is good news for China and the planet.
China is stepping up its efforts to become a strong economic power in the world-
For practical reasons, there is no doubt that the environmental situation is still grim.
To promote the unremitting efforts of the gross domestic product (gdp (GDP)-
The economy grew by 10.
9 per cent of the first six months of this year)
According to the State Environmental Protection Administration, the emissions of major pollutants increased in the first half of this year (Sepa).
Today, more than half of manufactured goods are made in China, and the reason why so many Western companies are turning to China to produce products is the cheap production costs.
However, the pressure to reduce manufacturing costs is usually bad for the environment because companies use the cheapest means of production, which is usually not the most eco-friendly means.
From cars to washing machines to Double Eleven, domestic demand is growing
For a long time, all glass products have denied the existence of the vast majority of Chinese people, which also puts pressure on the environment and energy use.
"While experiencing such a high economic growth rate, it is almost impossible to reduce energy consumption in a short period of time," said Lu Zhongwu, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, who told China Daily.
* Coal production increased by 12.
Growth in the first half of this year was 8. Coal-
Greenhouse gas emissions from thermal power plants, China will build a new plant every week to 10 days.
* Integration of local government-
China's third city has banned increasingly popular e-bikes, although they are less polluted than cars.
In almost every city in China, bike lanes for regular bikes are being trimmed to make way for cars.
* 12 billion tons of industrial waste in China
The first half of the water rose 2.
Four percentage points higher than the same period last year.
* China is second in the world
The largest emitter of greenhouse gases is expected to overtake the United States as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
The third poisoning in the country nearly three-
The quarter of rivers and lakes.
* Sepa said that environmental assessments were carried out on public projects that were not available until they were approved.
* Air pollution in Beijing is "dangerous", the highest category in the China Environmental Monitoring Center index, 24-
According to Xinhua News Agency, an hour ended at noon on Tuesday this week.
* Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
A common indicator of water pollution, increased by 3.
7%, sulfur dioxide emissions increased by 4.
The first half of this year was 2%.