China Energy Monthly - April

GOVERNMENT

“China to set up special funds for green counties” (4-29-11)

A group of ministries will collaboratively support green counties. The Ministry of Finance, the National Energy Administration, and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued regulations that will give subsidies to counties that develop alternative energy sources such as biomass and methane gas. There are requirements. For example, a project must benefit at least 20,000 families. This is consistent with China’s goal of building more green cities.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/business/2011-04/29/content_12423544.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-04/27/content_12407351.htm

China Looks Forward to Second Generation Biofuels (4-28-11)

China is looking to produce more second generation biofuels, such as those from agricultural waste. Novozymes, a Denmark-based company, has approximately 50% market share of China’s first generation biofuels production, such as corn ethanol. The 12th Five Year Plan emphasizes second generation fuels, which does not compete with demand for food products. Novozymes predicts that up to 2.8% of China’s total energy consumption can come from biomass by 2015. This could be ten times of today’s levels.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/business/2011-04/28/content_12412792.htm

Electric Shortages Cause Scheduled Blackouts (4-28-11)

Insufficient coal supplies and rising oil prices cause electricity shortages. The Central China grid network only had coal stockpiles sufficient for nine days, less than the recommended 15 days by the Chinese government. Coal companies in the U.S. however usually only have enough coal for a couple of days. Since last year power was shut off every other day for enterprises that use less than 200 kW a day. Other companies with revenues of less than $770,000 a year were prohibited from using electricity between 7 am to 5:30 pm. Business with revenues over $770,000 can only use power every two days.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/business/2011-04/28/content_12414549.htm

“China drafting special law on climate change” (4-27-11)

China’s climate change negotiator announced in Brussels that China is currently drafting a climate change law.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/china/2011-04/27/content_12402439.htm

“Japan nuclear crisis promotes ‘urgent’ drafting of new law” (4-26-11)

State Council plans on drafting new legislation on nuclear reactor safety after the nuclear crisis in Japan. In 1984, Li Peng proposed a similar law. Another similar law was proposed in 2004. Both times, approval did not occur because of differences between the administrative bodies and the lawmakers.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-04/26/content_12393701.htm

New Geothermal Plan (4-23-11)

Ministry of Land and Resources announced that geothermal will make up 1.7% of China’s energy by 2015. Geothermal will replace 6.8 million tons of coal and 180 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The government has allocated $25.2 million to investigate geothermal as the technology is not fully developed and currently it requires large up-front investment.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/china/2011-04/23/content_12380533.htm

New Report with Food and Water Watch Details Ethanol's Costly Subsidies

Long heralded as a green alternative to fossil fuel, corn-based ethanol has become a costly distraction that chiefly benefits corporate, political and lobbying interests rather than the American public, the environment, small farmers and rural communities, according to a new report by Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment and Food & Water Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.

Titled “Crystal Eth: America’s Crippling Addiction to Taxpayer-financed Ethanol,” the report concludes that corn-based ethanol is unlikely to significantly reduce America’s dependence on imported oil, has a negligible ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, contributes to environmental degradation in coastal waters and been an economic boon for agribusiness giants managed in absentia rather than small and medium-size, locally owned farms, farm cooperatives and ethanol refineries.

The report examines the political contributions and lobbying efforts of some of the largest corporate ethanol refiners to garner ever-larger subsidies, and how the growth of corporate consolidation in the corn-based ethanol sector has been an unintended result of America’s renewable transportation fuel politics, policies and subsidies. The report estimates that ethanol refiners have received at least $22.8 billion in total government financial support between 1999 and 2008.

The report recommends that:

• Corn-based ethanol subsidies should be phased out completely over the next few years in favor of subsidies to biofuel alternatives that are more efficient, economically feasible and environmentally friendly, such as cellulosic and algae biofuel refiners.
• The renewable fuel standard should be amended to lower the amount of corn-based ethanol qualifying for government quotas.
• Renewable fuel standards should be increased for second- and third-generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol and algae-based biodiesel, which should only receive support if they meet sustainability criteria to qualify for subsidies. These could include a net energy gain for cellulosic or other biodiesel fuels, reduced water utilization, limiting the indirect land use impact on food production and eschewing emerging higher-risk technologies such as nanotechnology and synthetic biology.
• Farmers who produce and consume their own biofuels on the farm should be rewarded by an energy tax credit for each gallon of ethanol, biodiesel or vegetable oil that they use instead of fossil fuels.

Congress has mandated that biofuel use must reach 36 billion gallons annually by 2022.

Download the Full Report at the IEE Publication Site.

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