This post is the fourth in a series by guest blogger Abby Poats.

While a quick Google search reveals that Baoding—unlike Xi’an and nearby Beijing—does not make China’s top 10 must-see list, the city is not without its charms. In addition to its historic and scenic attractions, Baoding—located a one-hour train ride south of Beijing in neighboring Hebei Province—is both an increasingly common destination for renewable energy investors and perhaps a worthwhile stop for clean energy and green design enthusiasts.

While better known as the origin of Chinese meditation balls (“Baoding balls”), the home of the famous “Donkey Burger,” and the birthplace of 2004 and 2008 Olympic diver gold medalist Guo Jingjing, Baoding is a key leader in China’s renewable energy technology manufacturing industry.

Established in 1992, the Baoding High-Tech Industry Development Zone (BHTIDZ) today has become China’s “Power Valley,” a key renewable energy industrial base hosting manufacturing plants that have generated over 20,000 local jobs. Among these solar and wind technology manufacturers are Yingli Solar, one of the world’s leaders in vertically integrated solar photovoltaic manufacturing, and Tianwei Wind Power Technology, a leading Chinese wind turbine manufacturer.

While the factory compounds and assembly lines are no doubt impressive, tours are limited to professionals on official business. The nearby Power Valley Jinjiang International Hotel (PVJJ), however, is a welcome respite from the bustling plants and is open to the public. When guests first stroll through the lobby and gaze up at the chandelier, they may think the dark lattice pattern is more a modern aesthetic statement than anything else. A quick chat with the charge at the front desk, however, will brief guests on the hotel’s 0.3 megawatt (MW) installed capacity of building-integrated solar photovoltaic modules, which are capable of generating 260,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity.

Furthermore, PVJJ boasts a heat pump system that processes urban wastewater to provide for the hotel’s heating and cooling needs, making the and as such, making the hotel a stimulating stop for green building proponents.

As these are just a few highlights of Baoding’s impressive achievements in the fields of renewable energy technology manufacturing and implementation, all comments—from readers who have also visited the city to those who are curious for more specific details on Baoding’s renewable energy industrial development—are welcome!

Abby Poats is a Research Associate based in Beijing with the Washington DC-based American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) US-China Program (USCP). She also teaches English at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing through the Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship program. Her blog entries contain her personal reflections and do not reflect the views of ACORE USCP.

This post is the third in a series by guest blogger Abby Poats. Abby Poats is a Research Associate based in Beijing with the Washington DC-based American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) US-China Program (USCP). She also teaches English at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing through the Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship program. Her blog entries contain her personal reflections and do not reflect the views of ACORE USCP.

Source: www.shanghaifocus.com

 

One of China’s staple travel destinations, Xi’an—the present-day capital of Shaanxi Province and one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China—is world-renowned for its 8,000-strong subterranean army of Terracotta Warriors. Each year, tens of millions of Chinese and foreign tourists make their pilgrimage to Xi’an to behold these imposing forces commissioned in 210 BCE by Qin Shi Huang, the fierce first emperor of China, to be entombed with him to help him maintain his imperial dominance in the afterlife.

Glossing over 3,100 years of rich, tumultuous history brings us to the present day, as Xi’an adds to its subterranean Terracotta forces a new set of warriors taking on the paramount task of driving innovation up and cost down in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry.

In order for this development to even be possible, however, the regional economic development strategies of the 1990s first had to catalyze capital investment in poorer regions that had not benefitted as much as cities in the east during the 1970s and 1980s. Xi’an, like several other western cities, soon became home to strategic industrial development zones, which today host research, engineering and manufacturing facilities for the software, telecommunications, and aerospace industries. Today, Xi’an’s 40 universities and over 10,000 annual graduates provide Xi’an’s industrial zones with world-class research capacity.

Hosted by the Xi’an High-tech Industries Development Zone, U.S.-based Applied Materials, the world’s leading provider of solar PV equipment, opened the Applied Materials’ Solar Technology Center in October 2009. As the largest non-government solar energy research center in the world, the facility, according to Applied Materials CEO Mike Splinter, “represents a critical breakthrough for the photovoltaic industry and China” and the “industrialization of the global solar industry.”

Source: www.appliedmaterials.com

 

The facility will focus on research, development and demonstration as well as testing and training for both crystalline silicon and thin film module manufacturing processes. Furthermore, the center will allow local technology suppliers to work with Applied Materials engineers on testing and enhancing the efficiency of their current materials and systems.  

Former capital of thirteen ancient dynasties, Xi’an is working today to distinguish itself as China’s capital of solar research and development. While the city marked the terminus of the Silk Road in the distant past, Xi’an seems poised to become a key origin of solar innovation in the near future.

 by Abby Poats

This post is the second in a series by guest blogger Abby Poats. Abby Poats is a Research Associate based in Beijing with the Washington DC-based American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) US-China Program (USCP). She also teaches English at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing through the Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship program. Her blog entries contain her personal reflections and do not reflect the views of ACORE USCP.

The city of Wuxi is located in south-central Jiangsu province about 130 kilometers west of Shanghai. A city with over 3000 years of history, Wuxi, known as the “Pearl of Lake Tai,” is home to a host of natural and cultural attractions, including beautiful Lake Tai and artifacts from the Wu era in mid-to-late second century.

Source: http://www.oice.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/wuxi/images/map-wuki1.gif

View of downtown Wuxi on the shores of Lake Tai

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Wuxi’s economy was largely based on agriculture, particularly rice. By the beginning of the 20^th century, Wuxi’s economy had expanded and diversified to include textiles. While Wuxi’s economy is still based largely on textiles and manufacturing, the city’s booming development is increasingly attributed to high-tech industries.

With a total population of about 4.5 million people, Wuxi is a small city by Chinese standards, but with a booming economy driven by its eight industrial development zones, Wuxi today is known as “Little Shanghai.” In fact, in 2008 Forbes ranked Wuxi as the third best business city in China, and a recent national index ranks Wuxi’s economic development ninth out of 659 major cities.

In addition to Wuxi’s recent focus on information technology innovation, Wuxi is a national leader in renewable energy technology manufacturing. According to an official who spoke at the China International New Energy Expo (CINEE) held in Wuxi in September 2009, Wuxi is the leading solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer in China and also hosts over 30 wind power production businesses.

Specifically, Wuxi-Singapore Industrial Park—a joint venture initiated in 1993 between the government of Wuxi and a Singapore-based industrial corporation—is home to the global research and development headquarters of Suntech Power, one of the world’s largest solar technology manufacturers. Established in February 2009, the headquarters in Wuxi themselves are home to an impressive 1 megawatt (MW) solar PV façade, the world’s largest building integrated solar photovoltaic (BIPV), grid-connected system.

Section of Suntech headquarters’ 1 MW Solar Façade, Wuxi

The first privately owned Chinese company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2005, today Suntech ranks third in the world for solar cell PV manufacturing and first for complete solar module manufacturing. With third quarter 2009 growth of almost 50% and three new large supply contracts in Europe, Suntech appears poised to further enlarge “Little Shanghai’s” economy and its role in the solar industry.

By Abby Poats

Introducing our newest blogger, Abby Poats. Abby Poats is a Research Associate based in Beijing with the Washington DC-based American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) US-China Program (USCP). She also teaches English at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing through the Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship program. Her blog entries contain her personal reflections and do not reflect the views of ACORE USCP.

When juxtaposed, the words “wild” and “China” typically transport imaginations to the breathtaking lakes of Jiuzhaigou or Urumqi before invoking images of industrial development zones or solar manufacturing plants, right?

At the same time that China boasts countless natural, pristine wonders, however, its modern technological phenomena—particularly in the field of renewable energy—seek to play a key role in keeping China (and the rest of the world for that matter) beautiful.

Dan Nan wind farm in Nan’ao, Guangdong Province (photo courtesy of Greenpeace Southeast Asia)

Just yesterday, a China Daily article announced the release of a renewable energy roadmap by China’s leading energy think tank, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Energy Research Institute (ERI). The roadmap calls for one third of China’s total primary energy consumption to come from renewable energy sources by 2050, and highlighted the rapid growth of China’s wind production and solar manufacturing capacities between 2000 and 2008. Today, China is the world’s fourth largest wind power producer (behind the United States, Germany and Spain) and the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) battery module producer.

With targets like those proposed in the roadmap as well as China’s new status as the world’s second most desirable country for renewable energy project investment, the forecast for China’s renewable energy industry is mostly sunny with a strong chance of high winds.

With this in mind, my future entries aim to provide readers interested in China’s environment and specifically energy-related initiatives with clear snapshots of provinces and cities in China that are taking leadership roles in China’s clean technology development.  Readers’ minds will (hopefully) get the opportunity to hop from Wuxi to Xi’an and from Ordos City to Baoding and beyond.

It is such a pleasure to join WildChina’s blog contributors and readers. I invite you to check back soon for my next entry, which will focus on the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, home to beautiful Lake Tai and a leader in solar and wind manufacturing and services.

By Abby Poats