China turns economic engine toward clean-energy leadership
CHINA’S devastating pollution problems began here, in coal country, where legions of workers toiled and often died to exhume the rich deposits that fueled the country’s sooty rise to economic power.
Today, these muddy plains are home to a potent symbol of China’s new ambition: to bypass the United States and cement its dominant role in clean energy.
On a lake created by the collapse of abandoned coal mines, China has built the world’s largest floating solar project, large enough to provide light and air conditioning to much of a nearby city. The provincial government wants to expand the effort to more than a dozen sites, which collectively would produce the same amount of power as a full-size commercial nuclear reactor.
The project reflects China’s effort to reshape the world order in renewable energy as the United States retreats. Such technological expertise will form the infrastructure back- bone needed for countries to meet their climate goals, making China the energy partner of choice for many nations.
The wave-proof solar panels are an affordable and viable option for power-hungry countries. Delegations from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and elsewhere have come to study the project while the maker, Sungrow, prepares to license the technology for overseas sale.
China is capitalising on the leadership vacuum left after President Trump said last week that he would pull the United States out of the Paris accord to limit climate change.
China’s sway will be on display in Beijing this week at the Clean Energy Ministerial, a gathering of top energy officials from two dozen countries and the European Union that represent producers of threequarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
While the United States will be there, its representatives reflect the country’s deep split. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, an enthusiastic supporter of fossil fuel industries, will attend, along with Governor Jerry Brown of California, a vocal supporter of renewable energy.
China is an unlikely champion in fighting climate change.
The country is the world’s largest polluter, and its problems could grow as people buy more cars and use more power. It remains deeply dependent on coal, an especially dirty source of power.
And the race in renewables hasn’t been won. The United States and European Union accuse Beijing of unfairly subsidising its green industries and have raised trade barriers against Chinese-made goods.
American companies and local governments are set to continue their clean energy push despite Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accord.