Shanghai targets 'green' power plan
By Da Yong (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-23 14:23

Shanghai is expected to formally introduce a Green Electricity Scheme this year, mainly targeting large non-household consumers, officials say.

Under the plan that focuses on wind and solar power, the local government will encourage businesses to buy green electricity - energy produced from renewable resources such as wind and solar power - at a slightly higher price, according to an energy policy forum held on Sunday.

Details, such as the pricing, have yet to be finalized, but companies who voluntarily purchase such power will be granted honour certificates by local government and a list of the enterprises will be announced in major local media to enhance their reputations.

Worldwide, green electricity has been developed in the Netherlands, the United States, Australia and Germany.

The Shanghai Economic Commission authorized the Shanghai Energy Conservation Supervision Centre to design the green electricity scheme in co-operation with Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company last September.

"Shanghai is expected to become a positive example for other economically-developed coastal cities in China," Douglas Ogden, executive vice-president of the US-based Energy Foundation, told local media earlier at the forum.

According to local government, a 3,400-kilowatt windmill and a 10-kilowatt solar power generator have been established along the coastal area in Fengxian District in the city's southern suburbs.

In addition, construction of larger wind-power facilities in the city's Chongming Island and Nanhui District are being designed to have a capacity of more than 20,000 kilowatts. So far, they represent the largest windmills on the Chinese mainland, and are expected to be completed later this year, according to the company.

The windmills, with a total investment of 200 million yuan (US$24 million), are a co-operative project between the State Power Corporation and the World Bank on promoting the country's exploration of abundant wind power along the country's coast, said Hu Chengyu, an official with Shanghai Power, a subsidiary company under the State Power Corporation and the main developer.

Hu points out that the city's green electricity "will be only a very small part of the city's total electricity supply" and it will do little to help ease the current power pinch in Shanghai.

But the green electricity programme may further help improve the public awareness of sustainable development and environmental protection, said Hu.

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