Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
which reviews the policy response of the CPC, the presence of a gradualist
approach in relation to wind power development will be evident.
6.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES
Previous sections provided the contextual background necessary to under-
stand why the CPC has adopted a rigorous wind energy development strategy.
he social, technical, and economic inluences described have all incentiv-
ized the government to react and change its strategy regarding electricity
generation governance, which historically emphasized coal-ired electricity
as the dominant base-load technology supported by hydropower to provide
peak-load support. his section summarizes the main cause-and-efect rela-
tionships that have catalyzed change.
First, from a social perspective, there is increasing awareness that emissions
from coal-ired power plants are largely responsible for the hazes, which make
Chinese urban centers the most polluted in the world. Combined with the
health costs associated with urban pollution, the government had both social
and economic incentives to take action to abate coal-ired power plant emis-
sions. he irst step was to phase out all smaller, ineicient coal-ired power
plants. Over the past decade, over 60,000 MW of highly pollutive technology
has been removed from the electricity grid. he next step was a gradual move
to diversify the energy mix by supporting expansion of wind power, mini-
hydro and nuclear power. While this progresses, the government continues to
fund research into carbon capture and sequestration. hroughout this phase-
out process, the gradualist approach of the CPC is evident.
Second, China's ever-increasing base of engineering competency, along
with applied know-how gained through joint ventures with foreign wind
turbine manufacturers, has given the government the conidence necessary
to encourage indigenous development of wind power; however, the gov-
ernment also deserves praise for its policies in support of amassing such
competency. he process of enhancing engineering prowess in electricity
generation technology has been methodically planned. he CPC has even
gone as far as to establish a specialized university—the North China Electric
Power University in Beijing—with separate departments solely dedicated to
advancing renewable energy and nuclear power science. To ensure China's
new engineers developed world-class applied experience, the government
has pursued a policy that encouraged joint ventures with foreign nuclear
power and wind power irms.
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For example, China's irst nuclear power
plants were joint ventures that helped China's nuclear power engineers
acquire applied technical knowledge. As China's nuclear power engineers
