nuclear-news

The Sydney Morning Herald: national, world, business, entertainment, sport and technology news from Australia’s leading newspaper.

China is open to renewable power
Sydney Morning Herald Ben Cubby, Environment Reporter
October 1, 2008

THE solar power magnate and Chinese-Australian billionaire Zhengrong Shi has not made his fortune by being pessimistic.

While China’s attitude to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions loomed large over Ross Garnaut’s climate change report, Dr Shi believes China is well on the road to becoming a renewable energy superpower.

Dr Shi, an Australian citizen, last night returned to the University of NSW, where he used to teach, to address graduating students. He said he would not be surprised if China did commit to binding targets for reducing its soaring emissions at the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen next year.

“I think China will be heavily involved. It is already very high on the Government agenda,” he said………………………

Dr Shi called for the Federal Government to heed Professor Garnaut’s suggestion that a national feed-in tariff be introduced to encourage people to adopt renewable energy.

The tariff works by paying people with rooftop solar panels more than the market rate to feed electricity back into the power grid. Similar schemes in several European nations have fuelled a boom in renewable power.

Dr Shi’s solar panel manufacturing empire, Suntech Power, could benefit handsomely from a tariff, but he insists any government subsidy would only need to last a few years because solar costs will soon be competitive with coal.

The Sydney Morning Herald: national, world, business, entertainment, sport and technology news from Australia’s leading newspaper.

Tags: renewables, renewableenergy

October 1, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | ENERGY