China will readjust its energy development goals and structure under the changing situation especially that a new target was proposed last year, says Mr. Shi Lishan, Deputy Director-general of the New Energy Department of the State Energy Bureau, at the Forum on Clean Energy, Efficiency Investment and Enterprise Practice held on June 2. China formulated its mid- and long-term plan of renewable energy development in 2007, with targets clearly defined. Nevertheless, considering the new situation, a new goal was proposed last year that the non-fossil fuel energy would reach 15% of the total by 2020.

According to the renewable energy development plan, the renewable energy consumption should account for 10% of the total energy consumption by 2010. The Standing Committee of the State Council proposed to reduce per GDP CO2 emission by 40-45% by 2020 as compared with 2005, and the non-fossil energy should take 15% of the total energy consumption.

A study report by the Energy Research Institute of the State Grid indicates that major impact will be on coal. In order to achieve the 15% goal, China should greatly raise its capacity of nuclear power generation and the development and supply of renewable energy, and in the meantime strictly control the increase of coal consumption and supply. As the nuclear energy, renewable energy and coal are all used to generate electricity, the electricity generation industry will be mostly influenced in term of its future development, its structure and its distribution.

According the report, the non-fossil energy resources feasible for large-scale development before 2020 mainly include nuclear energy, hydro power and wind energy. All these resources will be used for generation of electricity. In 2020, the nuclear power generation will reach 80 MKW, hydro power will reach 350 MKW and wind energy will reach 170 MKW.

(Source: Chinanews.com)