Video: Solar water heaters take off in China
Read more about China in our special issue
SHI ZHENGRONG is an unlikely contender for the title of China鈥檚 richest man. He is a green entrepreneur in a nation that is home to 16 of the world鈥檚 20 most polluted cities. Last year, Forbes magazine ranked him top of mainland China鈥檚 rich list, with a net worth of $2.2 billion. Only electrical retailer Wong Kwong Yu kept him from retaining the title in 2007.
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Shi is head of Suntech Power, based in Wuxi, which is one of the largest producers of solar-cell modules in the world. He represents the kind of home-grown success story in both technology and business that will be needed in spades to meet the crushing energy demands of the emerging superpower.
China鈥檚 demand for energy is expected to nearly double by 2020, far surpassing the needs of any other country. The consequences for the global climate, and for the health of its own citizens, are stark. This year, according to the International Energy Agency in Paris, China鈥檚 carbon dioxide emissions will overtake those of the US, largely because of its overwhelming reliance on coal. That means more air pollution, which already causes more than half a million premature deaths in China every year, according to
In an effort to prevent disaster, the Chinese government鈥檚 current 50-year energy plan seeks to reduce coal use from 67 per cent of the nation鈥檚 total energy consumption in 2003 to 55 per cent in 2020, and 40 per cent in 2050 (see Chart). The difference would be met by a large increase in natural gas and renewable energy. Solar power is a major part of the plan and could drive down the use of coal further, if only it were not so expensive.
Bringing down those costs is where Shi could really make his mark. His journey to the top of the solar tree began in the 1980s. He felt prospects for a young physicist were slim in China, so he moved to Australia鈥檚 University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney. After his fellowship ended he won a job at a university spin-off company called Pacific Solar, which was developing thin-film solar cells. There his group was among the first in the world to grow crystalline silicon on glass at a low temperature 鈥� a key advance in commercialising solar cells. Martin Green, Shi鈥檚 mentor at UNSW, is glowing about his ex-colleague. 鈥淶hengrong was an excellent scientist 鈥� always able to make progress where others would have stalled,鈥� he says.
By the late 1990s, however, Shi got itchy feet. 鈥淚 felt a little bit bored of what I was doing, because there were no more challenges,鈥� he says. He had been visiting China to lecture and was spending much of his time as a sort of solar guru to students, business people and government officials. 鈥淭he country lacked a true expert,鈥� he says.
A friend eventually persuaded him that China had become more supportive of entrepreneurs, so Shi decided to move his family back home. In 2001, with 11 patents in his pocket and a truckload of bravado, he approached Chinese investors for the money to set up a solar energy company. The regional government of Wuxi, an aspiring industrial hub near Shanghai, stumped up $6 million and helped bring in another $5 million in research grants. Winning such support would have been unlikely in Australia, Shi says, or in any country whose government does not invest directly in companies.
However, as Suntech grew, the official backing that had got the firm off the ground became a millstone around its neck. By 2004, the government鈥檚 political hand-wringing and lack of business expertise were holding the company back, says Shi. 鈥淭hey wanted to control the company. That was a very stressful time. I can tell you my blood pressure went up.鈥� He was determined to cut the apron strings, and resolved to quit if the state presence stayed. 鈥淚f you cannot run a company in the way you like, then there are endless politics, struggling. It can kill it.鈥�
Facing down the local party bosses was a brave move, but it paid off. Wuxi鈥檚 government investors eventually backed away, selling their stake for a big pay-off after accepting that their meddling could discourage future entrepreneurs. Free of its ties, in December 2005 Suntech floated on the New York Stock Exchange, initially valued at more than $5 billion.
Today, Suntech is worth about $7 billion and does most of its business with countries that subsidise solar power, such as Germany and Spain. It has provided photovoltaic panels for large projects, ranging from the new roof on San Francisco airport鈥檚 third terminal to a 130-kilowatt system that will help power the Beijing National Stadium being built for the 2008 Olympics.
Unsurprisingly, Shi is bullish about China going solar to meet its escalating energy needs. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no choice: China has to go renewable,鈥� he says. Looking at the haze of air pollution outside Shi鈥檚 63rd-floor office window in Shanghai, it is hard to disagree. Shi says the government is taking notice of wind and biomass as renewable energy sources, and solar farms attached to the grid will be next.
Not everyone is optimistic about the government鈥檚 plan to go green, however. 鈥淎 plan is one thing, how you implement it is another,鈥� says C. S. Kiang, a climate scientist and dean of the College of Environmental Sciences at Peking University.
There is good reason for his concern. In 2005, China鈥檚 National People鈥檚 Congress passed the Renewable Energy Promotion Law, which commits the country to producing 15 per cent of its power from clean energy sources by 2020. Despite this, the construction of coal power plants has continued unabated, with more than two major plants being added to the electric grid per week in 2006, says Eric Martinot, a visiting scholar at the Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Center in Beijing.
鈥淭he government is pushing renewable energy, yet two coal power plants are added to the grid each week鈥�
The discrepancy between plan and action is due in part to conflicts of interest between local governments and Beijing鈥檚 central authority. This will be a major issue in future. 鈥淭he central government cannot control local governments as much any more, because they now have their own money,鈥� says Kiang.
That paves the way for companies such as Suntech to play a big role in China鈥檚 energy future. Martinot says it is likely the country will meet its renewable energy targets, but this will depend on industrial development and pricing levels. Because of its high cost, solar power will probably remain a small slice of the pie for a while: Suntech鈥檚 sales in China for 2007 are only 1.5 per cent of its total, but Shi expects that to increase as solar costs fall and energy demand soars.
Given the billionaire鈥檚 record, it is tempting to believe him. However, the greening of China will depend on others following in his footsteps. Many researchers have the right expertise, Shi says, but lack patience. 鈥淲e need to be careful about short-sightedness. Chinese scientists are doing some good work, but the country has become so materialistic.鈥�
Energy and Fuels 鈥� Learn more about the looming energy crisis in our comprehensive special report.
Solar city
A 2-hour bus ride from the beer capital of Tsingtao takes you to Rizhao in Shandong province, a charming coastal city of 3 million whose name means 鈥渟unshine鈥� 鈥� for good reason.
When foreign guests visit, Mayor Li Zhaoqian takes them to the roof of the Shanshui (Mountain Water) Hotel. At first glance the view could be that of any city: an endless expanse of apartment buildings stretching out in all directions. A closer look, however, reveals rows of cylindrical solar collectors blanketing nearly every building. Unlike anywhere else in the world, more than 99 per cent of the city centre鈥檚 residents rely on solar energy for their hot water. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cheap, it鈥檚 convenient and it鈥檚 clean,鈥� says Li.
On a tour of the city, Li, a former engineering professor, points out boulevards lined with solar-powered street lamps. He enthuses over the methane-capturing abilities of the city鈥檚 waste-water treatment plants. With financial backing from the central government, Rizhao has pursued renewable energy schemes that have transformed the city into a model for green development throughout China.
Solar hot water is a small but significant step in this direction. The push in Rizhao came 10 years ago, when the city began giving tax breaks and preferential land allocations to factories that manufacture solar heaters. Since then, use of solar hot water has boomed throughout China, exceeding that of the rest of the world combined, and leading to a small offset of carbon emissions (see charts 鈥楽olar hot water/heating鈥� and 鈥楥hina鈥檚 carbon savings from renewable energy鈥�, right).FIG-mg26291503.jpg
More than 35 million homes now use the devices for hot water, which would otherwise comprise 12 to 20 per cent of a household鈥檚 electricity bill. In villages around Dezhou, 300 kilometres north of Rizhao, thousands of people use public bathhouses fuelled by the sun. And in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, half of the city鈥檚 4.7 million residents use solar water heaters.
Last year $2.5 billion worth of these devices were manufactured in China. Han Jian-gong, general manager of Beijing Sunpu Solar, explains how they work. Each heater consists of about a dozen parallel glass tubes connected to a large water tank. Sunlight passes through the glass cylinders and heats black absorber tubes inside, which then transfer their heat to the tank. The least expensive units cost around $150, about the same as an electric water heater. 鈥淩ight now the competition is very hot,鈥� says Han, noting that more than 2000 companies in China make these solar heaters.
Han鈥檚 company was one of the first. It was founded in the late 1980s with help from German aerospace engineers who had worked on the original design. Earlier this year, Sunpu Solar landed a contract for 45,000 tubes that will provide hot water, heating and possibly solar-based air conditioning for buildings used in the 2008 Olympics.
The success of that project, however, will hinge on the city鈥檚 ability to clean up its runaway air pollution. Sunpu runs its own solar air-conditioning system, fuelled by a massive solar-collector array on its roof, but on a recent visit by New 杏吧原创 the sky was so thick with smog that the building was forced to rely on back-up power.
Back in Rizhao, all new buildings since 2002 have frames installed on their rooftops or walls and internal plumbing suitable for solar hot water, which has been heavily promoted. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like the word 鈥榩ropaganda鈥�, but we did do a lot of education with area residents and in local schools on the importance of using clean energy,鈥� Li says.
Recently Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, adopted similar requirements for new construction sites. In April, Chen Deming, the vice-minister of China鈥檚 National Development and Reform Commission, said a similar policy would be announced for all of China. 鈥淢ore and more cities will adopt our policies,鈥� says Li, who is now working as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People鈥檚 Congress of Rizhao City.
Phil McKenna
