DONGYING (China): China is gradually turning to renewable energy to reduce its dependency on traditional power supply which caused massive pollution.

Currently, some 75% of the electricity in the country is still produced by coal fire, but the Government is consistent in developing green energy by investing in almost half of the world’s new photovoltaic installations last year.

In June, Qinghai took the lead by running the entire province of 5.8 million people on wind, solar and hydro power for seven days as a trial project conducted by the State Grid, China’s national electricity company.

In the north-eastern region of China, another province – Shandong – plays a vital role in the renewable energy sector.

Last year, the province generated 23.67 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity, an increase of 33.7% compared with the previous year. Among them, 60% was from wind power, 22% biomass power and 13% solar power.

The power generated was enough for 39 million households, about five times the total number of Malaysian households.

Here, in this rather new industry in line with the Chinese Government’s strategy in promoting sustainable energy to reduce pollution, the intelligence of the Chinese is put into good use creating comprehensive projects that pushed their profits to great extent.

At the river mouth of Dongying, an industrial coastal city of Shandong province, Dongying Shuguang Solar Power invested in a renewable energy project.

A total of 230,000 solar panels were mounted on concrete piles above the water that covered an area of some 1,000 ha, the size of about 160 football fields.

“This is a solar-integrated agriculture project. We breed sea cucumber in the water, under the photovoltaic panels,” said business manager Tang Yongchao, adding that such methods would make the land more productive.

Tang said the company invested 590 million yuan (RM378mil) in the project and expected to see returns in seven years.

Last year, the company, which started in 2015, generated 86 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity – enough to cater for nearly 150,000 households in China.

“We will be opening up another sector of 30ha, which we believe can generate 26GWh of power,” he pointed out, adding the electricity is sold to State Grid.

When the project runs on full-scale in the near future, the usage of coal in thermos-electricity power generation could be reduced by 28,000 tonnes a year.

Tang revealed that the same power-integrated agriculture method could be applied to farming, planting crops or fruits under the solar panels.

In Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, Linuo Group is one of the pioneer enterprises in the solar energy industry.

The company covers the whole solar power chain, ranging from primary tubes and photovoltaic products to energy conservation and environmental protection-related equipment.

Being a leader in solar technology, its tube products accounted for more than 65% of the Chinese market.

Zhang Beiwen, the group’s vice-president, is very confident in the development of green energy, citing the falling solar technology cost and promising government policy as being among the reasons that will greatly boost the industry in China.

The gigantic wind turbines created a fairy- tale picturesque scene for Dongying city. Guohua (Dongying Hekou) New Energy company made a huge contribution to this unique attraction.

The company operates seven wind power plants with 569 wind generators in two districts, namely Hekou and Binzhou, generating 55GWh of electricity while reducing 490,000 tonnes of carbon emission.

China and the United States are the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world.

Under its 13th five-year power plan, the country has pledged to increase the share of renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60% by 2030.

It also planned to spend 2.5 trillion yuan (RM1.6 trillion) on green energy by 2020.