Energy targets

In September 2009, Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged at the UN Climate Change Summit in New York to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 15 percent by 2020. And in November, Premier Wen Jiabao said at a meeting of the State Council that China would reduce the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent, compared with the level of 2005.

Qin Haiyan, secretary general of the CWEA, says the government plans to build seven 10GW-level wind farms by 2020, totaling 90GW, to account for 78 percent of the country's installed wind power capacity.

Development of other clean energy sources, including solar, bio-mass and nuclear energy, has also accelerated.

Zhang Guobao, director of National Energy Bureau (NEB), cites, as an example, the government's approval for a pilot solar-powered town in Turpan basin.

In June, China decided to build its first low carbon emission pilot town in the Yujiabao financial quarter of north China' s Tianjin City.

"Developing clean energy, including wind, solar and nuclear power, will be a new growth point in our economy," says Zhang. "They are the main direction to adjust our energy structure, cope with global climate change, and ensure energy security."