POWER May 2011 - 9

country for the first time in a five-year plan established targets
to tackle climate change. It plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
per unit of GDP by 17% from 2010 levels by 2015 and to
reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16% from 2010
levels by 2015.
China achieved to some extent what it had set out to do in its
11th plan, managing to reach a 19.1% reduction (of a planned
20%) in energy intensity and producing 9.1% of primary energy
from non-fossil fuel sources. It should be noted, however, that
as pressure intensified on local officials to meet these targets in
late 2010, last-minute measures resulted in disruptive actions
that included blackouts and forced factory closures.
Meanwhile, power consumption continues to soar. As reported
by the State Grid Corp. of China, it was already up in the first
two months of this year, reaching 702.2 TWh-12.3% above last
year-and estimates are that this year's total consumption will
reach 4,600 TWh, up 10% from last year.
To meet demand, as it did in its 11th five-year plan in 2006,
the country's 12th plan lays out aggressive energy targets and
plans to phase out inefficient coal plants. About 70 GW of small,
inefficient coal-fired capacity was phased out between 2006 and
2010, and 8 GW is scheduled to be phased out in 2011. The 12th
plan includes an increased percentage of " new energy " consumption,
totaling 11.4% by 2015, though analysts point out that
this is still under discussion. (In the 12th plan, the category of
" new energy " includes cleaner coal and coal-bed methane power
projects as well as smart grid projects.) A total investment (public
and private) of 5 trillion yuan ($761.3 billion) is expected in
the sector by 2020.
About 40 GW of this cleaner energy was expected to come
from nuclear power by 2015, though after the Japanese nuclear
crisis, China's media reports that plans have been pulled back
to 80 GW from the 90 GW previously expected to be built by
2020. Emphasis will be on reactors based on Westinghouse's
third-generation AP1000 reactor. The new plan also calls for a
massive, 75-GW expansion of new hydroelectric capacity (12 GW
of which would be pumped storage), a 13-GW to 33-GW surge in
gas generation, and 90 GW in new wind capacity (5 GW of which
is to be offshore wind). Analysts expect China could far exceed
2. A river bank. In its 12th five-year plan (2011-2015), China is
looking to expand its hydropower capacity by 63 MW, and add 12 GW
of pumped storage, to boost its non-fossil-powered portfolio and meet
newly established climate change targets. Several mega-dams are under
construction, though none as big as the Three Gorges Dam on the
Yangtze River (shown here). One facility that will come online during
the 12th plan is the gargantuan 6.4-GW Xiangjiaba hydropower project
in southwestern China, expected to be fully operational in June 2012.
Courtesy: Le Grand Portage
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