China Invests $30 Billion in Renewable Energy; Economy Rebounds

July 24th, 2009 by Susan Kraemer

China’s economy makes stunning rebound:

China’s economy grew nearly 8% in the second quarter of 2009, the government said, in a stunning turnaround for the Asian powerhouse that offered some hope for the rest of the world.

Analysts said the rebound in China would offer a boost of confidence for the global economy as it struggles out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. To fight the downturn, the government had begun implementing an internal infrastructure stimulus package from November last year.

China’s exports dropped 21%.

Yet its overall industrial output actually expanded 9%!

Wait. How can that happen?

Because China is investing in its own renewable energy infrastructure:

Urban fixed asset investments rose 33 percent in the first half of 2009.

Renewable energy investments have been launched by the U.S. government this year, as well as by governments in Europe and across Asia.

But China’s stimulus is by far the most sweeping, with massive investment in renewable energy, including wind, hydropower and solar development:

China has invested $30 billion dollars in renewable energy.

Asian stimulus packages could lead to new waves of demand for renewable projects in China. As a result, global demand across the supply chain could shift from Europe and the U.S. to Asia.

“Upcoming solar-power installations have the potential to surpass the original 2020 target of 1.8 GW by up to 10 times, reaching between 10 GW and 20 GW over the next 10 years,” said said Asia Pacific energy and power systems program manager Irina Sidneva.

China is more infamous for supposedly “putting up a new coal power plant every week”. It appears that the Chinese government is not afraid to pick winners and losers. Fossil energy sources are the losers in this socialized energy stimulus package.

Image via Te We Liu

Via Terra Daily and The Wall Street Journal









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