China’s wind and solar sectors could attract as much as 5.4 trillion yuan ($782 billion) in investment between 2016 and 2030 as the country tries to meet its renewable energy targets, according to a research report published on Tuesday.
China has pledged to increase non-fossil fuel energy to at least 20 percent of total consumption by the end of the next decade, up from 12 percent in 2015, part of its efforts to tackle air pollution and bring carbon dioxide emissions to a peak by around 2030.
To do that, China would need to raise wind and solar power’s share of primary energy consumption to 17 percent by 2030, up from 4 percent in 2015, according to the report, published by environmental organization Greenpeace and involving research by a government institute, a Chinese university, and other groups.
Wind and solar power could reduce fossil fuel consumption by nearly 300 million tonnes of standard coal a year by the end of 2030, equivalent to France’s total primary energy consumption in 2015, the report said, assuming China met its targets.
Greenpeace said it worked with the China Wind Energy Association, the NDRC’s Energy Research Institute, Tsinghua University and an environmental research group called Draworld, and then submitted the findings to independent experts.
Source: Reuters
