Decentralised Renewable Energy Offers New Hope to China’s Rural Communities

3/2/2015

barry says

My recent visit to Scandinavia reminded me of the importance of the extensive use of wind energy to the region and prompted consideration of the opportunities to rural agricultural communities in China. Whilst China is the world’s leader in renewable energy production being the largest manufacturer and user of both wind turbines and solar panels, it is the production models adopted by countries such as Denmark, through use of individual and community co-operative energy generation, that offers wonderful opportunities to invigorate rural Chinese communities being left behind in the race to urbanisation.

Solar panels built in Ningxia and Xinjiang Province, supported by UNDP and Zhenfa New Energy, to provide electricity access for people in rural areas, promote the development of new energy, and protect the environment. Image / UNDP

With mass labour migration to the cities and the urban population anticipated to reach 76% by 2050[1] the de-populated Chinese countryside will need to reach new economies of scale and provide unprecedented financial attractions to maintain any semblance of a youthful working population. Not only do rural incomes currently lag significantly behind urban areas there is a huge disparity in education, heathcare and lifestyle opportunities. As China seeks to update its rural economies, a new generation of agricultural workers must be able to develop stable and well remunerated incomes in order to be able to contribute to solving the food supply and security issues currently haunting the government.

It seems clear that renewable resources will have a huge role to play. Small wind turbines, solar panels and other decentralized systems can make rural areas free of dependency from the power grid, oil and coal. With the development in the storage sector, it will also soon be possible to store electricity much cheaper than it is today.

Wind turbines at Findhorn Ecovillage make the community a net exporter of electricity. Image / W. L. Tarbert

The price for electricity in many places in the world is now at a level where the payback time for self supply is under 5 years. New ways of financing renewable energy projects in rural areas are coming up and the quality and reliability of solar panels and small wind turbines has risen significantly whilst increases in output have seen costs fall dramatically, making them a serious alternative or supplement to existing technologies like diesel generators etc.

Small wind turbines or solar fields can be used in many different ways including direct water pumping or simply in electricity production. The potential for cooperative ownership is obvious and can be a lever for small agricultural societies without supply of AC electricity, or where economic reasons make the choice obvious.

All new Solar installations in Shaanxi province are required to integrate agriculture. Image / smartaganalytics.com

The United Nations Development program (UNDP) last year established a partnership with Chinese high-tech energy company Zhenfa New Energy, which focuses on the manufacture, distribution and export of solar, wind, and biomass power by jointly undertaking new energy and environment projects. Zhenfa has recently rolled out a solar powered aquaculture project in arid Shaanxi province, supported by the local government, whereby a whole village is able to self-supply electricity whilst generating profits from both fish generation and the sale of excess electricity to the grid.

Solar integrated agriculture became the new buzz phrase this year when China’s National Energy Administration included it in its regulatory language, highlighting clear incentives for those who combined solar power generation with agricultural applications. Currently the market is in its infancy, lacking standardisation, regulation and management knowledge and a coherent policy will be essential in both facilitating the market to develop. However the growth of this sector seems undeniable when coupled with the potential to reinvigorate rural economies, tackle food supply problems and at the same time meet energy needs and environmental emissions targets.

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Wind power generated
39% of Denmark's electricity consumption in 2014 and the government targets to increase the share to 50% by 2020.[2]

Wind power has gained very high social acceptance in Denmark, with the development of community wind farms playing a major role. Families have been offered a tax exemption for generating electricity within their own or an adjoining community [3] and by 2001 wind turbine cooperatives had installed 86% of all the wind turbines in the country. While this could involve purchasing a turbine outright, more often families purchased shares in wind turbine cooperatives which in turn invested in community wind turbines.

Image / Alamy, The Guardian

Whilst many countries tried to subsidize green technology in the last century but most failed to make a viable industry. The Danish system was an exception by providing 30% of initial capital cost in the early years which was gradually reduced to zero. Surplus produced energy can be connected to the national grid at market charge rates (ie the meter goes backwards) however there is a feed-in charge.

As of 2014, China leads the world in the production and use of wind power, solar photovoltaic power and smart grid technologies, generating almost as much water, wind and solar energy as all of France and Germany's power plants combined.

Coal production in China falls for the first time this century

Image / China Daily

The China National Coal Association (CNCA) has predicted that this years’ production decline will continue to fall at 2.5% year-on-year due to continuing pressure on the coal industry. This results from demanding new environmental regulations as well as increased investment in renewable energy, that has made China the world’s largest investor in clean technologies[4].

References:

[1] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352).

[2] The Guardian: "Denmark aims to get 50% of all electricity from wind power", 26 March 2012

[3] Paul Gipe (1996). "Community-Owned Wind Development in Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands". Wind Works. Retrieved 2007-06-21

[4] The Guardian: "China coal production falls for first time this century", 27 January, 2015