Not merely content with being the up and coming global economic superpower, many in the renewable energy industry have predicted that China could be the next major player in renewables – especially considering the fact that they currently lead the world in the manufacture of solar cells, which are the key part of solar panels used for producing solar energy. China also exports many of their solar cells to the US, which has sparked fears among the renewable energy industries there. It seems also, though, that China does not merely have ambitions to continue manufacturing components for renewable energies like wind and solar power. Rather, they are also investing significantly in their domestic market in order to combat their towering greenhouse gas emissions as well as provide electricity for their 1.4 billion population in addition to making efforts to tackle other outstanding pollution issues.

China’s investment in its domestic market for renewable energies is also, according to energy executives, bringing manufacturers from further afield to China as well as attracting research teams from around the world. This has sparked concern among many that such interest and investment will lead to China, rather than the US, emerging as the new centre of renewable energy technology, which will relegate nations like the US to a further dependency status as they would subsequently be reliant on importing solar panels, wind turbines and other green energy technologies from abroad, much in the same way as they are currently dependant on the Middle East for oil.

Industry experts in the US have bemoaned the fact that the US government hasn’t been nearly as proactive as the Chinese government in recognizing that green technology industries will be the main areas of 21st century development. They have pointed to what they refer to as China’s ambition to be ‘the Silicon Valley of renewables.’ This is underscored by comparative spending on renewable and clean energy development, with China currently investing around $9 billion per annum with the US lagging significantly behind. Also, to highlight it even further, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer has its headquarters in Denmark while almost all of the batteries that power America’s hybrid card are made in Japan.

The Chinese government has raised the bar further by setting ambitious renewable energy targets which are forecast to make up some 15% of its fuel within the next decade, whilst the US currently has no national targets – although some individual states have made some local resolutions. Many experts, however, point to the fact that the lack of a unifying national standard has hindered investment in US renewable energy technologies.

During 2010 it is anticipated that China will make further strides in bolstering and developing its renewable energy industries and to this end they are likely to up their wind-generating capabilities, putting them ahead of any other country according to the Global Wind Energy Council. Ominously for the US, they themselves were the occupants of the number one position last year. The Council also anticipates that, within the next three years, China is likely to become the globe’s major wind-energy producer. As a signal of just how rapid China’s rise has been in recent times the Council pointed to the fact that China has recently overhauled every other country in terms of its ability to make wind turbines from a virtual lack of any production capabilities just five years ago.

It is not just in wind energy that China is looking to become a leading player, however, as they look also to beef up their solar energy capabilities. According to Steven Chan, the strategy chief for the world’s largest maker of solar panels, China’s Suntech Power Holdings, China is most likely to become the world’s leading solar power market. His company is also planning to open its first manufacturing plant in the US next year in Arizona to break into the domestic US market.

One of the main reasons is that China is able to make such advancements so quickly compared to other highly-industrialized nations such as the US is that they tend to make policy decisions within a central, one-party government, so no time is wasted in lengthy arguments and consultations. After a policy is decided it can be rapidly executed through the country’s small number of state-owned utilities. Comparatively, in the US, the many thousands of utility companies are faced with a myriad of environmental and regulatory issues that must be overcome before any new project can even begin. Allied to China’s ability to make decisions and execute them quickly they also have the available free land to work on, as well as the pressing needs of population pressure and pollution emissions that come with rapid development.

It stands to reason also, following on, that if more and more manufacturers are located in China then more and more development and companies will need to locate themselves there also.

One such company that is upping its investment in China is Duke Energy, one of America’s major power companies. It has recently signed agreements with two Chinese energy companies to jointly develop technologies to capture and store carbon emissions, looking at both coal-fired plants and solar energy production. Duke’s chief technology officer, David Mohler, anticipates it will afford his company the ability to rapidly test new technologies that can then be utilized in the US. Costs will also be lowered by doing so first in China rather than domestically. Mr. Mohler was also struck by China’s ability to make rapid progress, adding that “we will be able to bring new technologies to the market at a much faster rate.”

Another example is in Vestas, a Danish-based wind turbine manufacturing company and a leader in its field. The company began investing in China back in 2005 and in the US in 2007. They concluded that, whilst both markets were strong, China has been more dedicated to the market for renewables. This would appear to be supported by the fact surrounding the rapid growth of China’s wind power industry. In fact, in just the last year alone as many as 70 competitors to Vestas emerged in China compared to very few in the US. In terms of renewable energy technology manufacture and development, there is no question that China is in on the ground floor.

•