China to hike renewable energy targets

The Chinese government said it is planning to revive renewable energy development, starting with wind power. It has set a higher goal for wind power compared to the previous plan covering the period 2006 to 2010, confirmed Shi Dinghuan, a counselor of the State Council of China and the head of the Chinese Renewable Energy Society. In line with previous plans, the national installed capacity of wind power generators will reach 30 million kilowatts (KW) by 2020. The new plan will increase the target to 100 to 150 million KW for wind power. The mid- to long-term development plan for renewable energy issued in 2007 had the following targets: 30 million KW of installed wind power capacity, 300 million KW for hydropower, 30 million KW for biomass and 1.8 million KW for solar power. (May 6/ June 24, 2009)