Beijing strives to become world's solar energy R&D center

Viewing the threat of climate change, Beijing will draw a new blueprint for the development of its solar energy industry. In the future, Beijing hopes to make the new energy industry an engine of economic growth, and build an innovative new energy center in order to seize a dominant position in the new round of global industrial development. Wang Yingjian, deputy head of the Office of Beijing Energy and Economic Operating Adjustment Leading Group, described the prospect of solar energy development to the media on January 5.

Five departments including the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, the Finance Bureau of Beijing, and the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly held a news conference to call on the public to learn about the benefits of developing solar energy to the economy, people's livelihoods, and the nation as a whole.

Wang said that the coverage area of solar collectors installed in Beijing is expected to reach seven million square meters by 2012, and the solar energy power generation capacity will total 70 MW and the output value of its solar energy industry will exceed 20 billion yuan. A gathering base of major industries is taking shape and a domestically advanced solar photovoltaic and thermal testing center will be built. By then, solar energy will save energy consumption equivalent to 900,000 tons of standard coal annually, an increase of 20 percent from 2008. It will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.96 million tons.

Apart from statistical planning, the government is also well prepared policy-wise. To pave the way for new energy development, the government will build a high-end industrial base and a technology and information exchange and financial services platform for the development of enterprises, attract large domestic and international enterprises in the solar energy field to settle in Beijing and guide auxiliary enterprises in the industrial business chain to settle in the aforementioned industrial base. Beijing will also expand the high-end production and equipment manufacturing industries and focus on the development of crystalline silicon ingot furnaces and solar cell production lines, as well as other important equipment. It will strengthen the integration of the solar energy project industry and preferentially support the development of professional technology companies which own independent intellectual property rights and have construction, operation and management capacities.

Beijing and other provinces and municipalities’ enthusiasm for developing the new energy industry remains high, but under the current circumstances, people in many fields are worried about the industry.

At the early stage of the new energy industry, many people had thought that China would be standing on the same starting line together with other developed countries in the industry. The loss of key technologies, however, has undermined China's core competitiveness.

Ni Weidou, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, pointed out that when the development of China's new energy industry does not pursue scale, China should settle down to make breakthroughs in key technologies. Even in the fastest-developing wind and power sector, it is still foreign companies that play a leading role in some key fields such as bearing, the gear box and electronic control technology.

A phenomenon that is more deserving of our attention happened in the photovoltaic generation sector: on the one hand, Chinese companies are still increasing the production of polycrystalline silicon to support the production of polycrystalline silicon solar energy batteries; on the other hand, famous multinationals like GE, Corning and DuPont are shifting their focus to research and develop thin-film solar energy technology.

In September 2009, the State Council issued a paper listing polycrystalline silicon, wind power, steel and other industries as the ones that are troubled with overcapacity and serious overlapping construction and thus need timely control and adjustment. Though sources got around that there are officials saying that policies for polycrystalline silicon and wind and power facilities will be relaxed, Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice director of China's National Development and Reform Commission, emphasized on the sidelines of the conference on national development and reform system that at present, the industrial structure is not rational, and the overcapacity problem in some regions is highlighted by the financial crisis. "Wind and power facilities, polycrystalline silicon, and other emerging industries also showed a tendency towards gathering in these industries, overlapping introduction and construction."

According to Wang's understanding, however, Beijing adopts a "high-end way" to develop the new energy industry, including "high-end R&D, high-end demonstration, and high-end manufacturing," a route which is different from others. Wang told reporters from the China News Service that Beijing's industrial structure will improve across-the-board if the focus is given to the integration of the technology R&D systems and equipment industries of low consumption and high added value through manufacturing, and the consumption of fossil fuels will be reduced and the development of a low-carbon economy will be promoted by using and improving new energy structure. Obviously, developing new energy industry remains an opportunity.

Translated by LOTO