From Largest Polluter To Green Policy
It is no secret that the rise in economic and industrial power of China has come at a heavy ecological price, being mostly powered by coal power plants. Cheap fossil fuels have been a key advantage in the country’s spectacular rise to produce most of the world’s cement, steel, aluminum, ships, etc.
In total, China is manufacturing more goods than the cumulated 9 next largest manufacturers.
Source: CEPR
The country’s population and leadership know this came at a serious price. An indicator is, for example, air pollution, with the capital, Beijing, when it was almost constantly suffering from smog (smoke + fog) and causing respiratory diseases.
In autumn 2013, the country declared “war on pollution,” putting the issue on the same focus as economic development had been so far:
“We must be as resolute in the war on pollution as we are in the war on poverty”. In 2018, the action plan was followed by the “Three-year Plan on defending the blue sky”, which brought more cities under air quality management targets.
Li Keqiang – Then-premier (second-highest-ranking person in China’s political system) to the National People’s Congress
In addition, 25% of the surface waters are heavily polluted, and 16% of the soil is contaminated.
Building On Initial Successes
At the time, there was serious skepticism that the country could leave behind its coal-based economic model, but it seems that at least air pollution has been indeed tackled somewhat efficiently.
Source: Dialogue Earth
A key factor in this success has been the embracing of low-carbon, low-air pollution energy sources, as well as EVs.
In the process, it made China the global leader in green energy with the inflection point in the 2010-2015 period, with the country hitting many records recently:
- In 2022, China installed roughly as much solar capacity as the rest of the world combined, then doubled additional solar in 2023.
- More than half of cars sold in China are new energy vehicles (NEVs = EVs and hybrids)
- China produces 77% of global battery manufacturing.
- It also produces 80% of global refined lithium.
- The largest market for green bonds and green financing, with $131B in 2023 alone.
Source: Yale
Still, this is just the beginning, and an onslaught of news has illustrated that China is aiming for an even more ambitious scale in the next phase of clean energy development. This is actually direly needed, as the country’s economic growth means that while it is a leader in green energy, it is also more hungry for coal than ever.
Source: Visual Capitalist
Open-Sea Offshore Solar Farm
With power demand growing on the densely populated eastern coast of the country, China cannot rely solely on solar power produced in the distant northern and western desert areas.
And land in the coastal region comes at a premium, either for agricultural use or urban development. However, the sea has plenty of available space.
This is why China is building the world’s largest offshore solar farm, with a projected 1GW capacity, off the coast of Dongying City in Shandong Province, Eastern China. It should be enough to power 2.67 million urban homes.
Source: Examine China
It can be noted that the farm is located not far from Beijing, away from hurricane-affected regions. It will sit 8 km (5 miles) off the coast and spans an impressive 1,223 hectares (3,023 acres).
The structure will be supported by large-scale offshore steel truss foundations, each platform measuring 60m (197 feet) by 35m (115 feet).
Source: Electrek
This project will not just be an offshore solar plant but also integrate fish farming, potentially pioneering a new form of agrivoltaics mixing aquaculture and solar power.
Mega Wind Turbines
Large-scale offshore power is also growing in China. The country broke the world record for the most power generated in a day by a single wind turbine.
This was achieved offshore in the Fujian Province by the giant 16MW Goldwind GWH252 wind turbine.
Source: Euronews
The 252-metre diameter (827 feet) produced 384.1 megawatt hours (MWh) in 24 hours, while a typhoon was raging in the region. Each blade of the turbine can reach 2/3rd of the speed of sound at max capacity.
What made this record possible is that the Goldwind turbine can adjust its blades in real-time when winds reach high speeds, allowing it to continue generating power even in the midst of a tropical hurricane.
We are closely monitoring critical components like the main control program, pitch system, and generators to gradually lift power restrictions while ensuring operational safety,”
Spokesperson for Goldwind
Currently, wind power is very much a regional affair, with China representing 49% of the 64.3GW of total global offshore wind capacity in 2022, and Europe 47%.
Upcoming Chinese Nuclear Dominance
While the Chinese efforts to develop solar and wind energy are remarkable, the country also needs stable and non-weather-dependent energy to phase out coal power plants without having to wait years for the deployment of terawatts of battery capacity.
Nuclear power plants also have a small land footprint and can be located anywhere close to energy demand, like megalopolis and industrial centers.
This is why China is also leading in nuclear deployment, with as many as 100 new nuclear reactors to be built in the next 10 years. Despite the almost unbelievable scale of this goal, it is realistic, as China approved 11 new nuclear reactors in 2024.
Source: Nuclear Energy – Our World in Data
China is the first country to commercially operate a 4th generation nuclear reactor, with the 2023 start of the Huaneng Shandong Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Eastern China.
This reactor is a Very-High-Temperature Reactor (VHTR), relying on a “pebble bed,” where ceramic spheres small enough to be held in hand protect a core of uranium, with tens of thousands of these spheres in one reactor.
The advantage of the pebble design is that it allows for replacement without interrupting the reactor production, with the ceramic spheres also avoiding any risk of leakage of radioactive material.
Source: CGTN
This design reaches very high temperatures, in the range of 1,000°C. Because the reaction requires high temperature and is passively cooled, this is a design inherently safer than older 3rd generation nuclear power plants.
Another nuclear innovation, which does not burn uranium but thorium, is also spearheaded by China. It created a thorium reactor that can run waterless, making it a good fit for desert regions. Thorium reactor designs tend to be inherently safer, and cannot be used to generate nuclear-weapon-grade radioactive material.
The country is even considering building container ships to be propelled by a thorium reactor, as revealed by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
Space-Based Solar
Another domain in which China is growing aggressively is space exploration. From an initial space program mostly built on Soviet-era designs, it is now competing efficiently with NASA and even Elon Musk’s SpaceX, in what can only be called a new great space race.
This space race includes an ambitious plan for a Moon base in collaboration with Russia, with 3 phases, and requires 5 missions from super-heavy launchers still in development.
- The first phase will be dedicated to scientific measurements and local resources.
- The second phase will build the basic supporting elements and the first manned landing remotely.
- The third phase, likely around 2045, will build the actual base ready to receive more astronauts and scale up the facility.
A central tenet of the Moon base plan from China is the utilization of on-site resources for local manufacturing. This would match a parallel plan to build the largest human-made object in space.
The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), the country’s main, state-owned spacecraft maker, plans to conduct a space high voltage transfer and wireless power transmission experiment in low Earth orbit in 2028.
Source: Space News
The short version is to use the 24/7 illumination found in space to increase solar panels’ performances, making solar power ultra-reliable. The generated power is beamed back to Earth through microwaves.
Source: ESA – European Space Agency
(We explained in deeper detail how space-based solar power works in a dedicated article.)
The 2028 test will carry a 10kW solar array, similar to the capacity on a house’s rooftop.
If successful, this test will be followed in 2030 by a 100x more powerful (1MW) satellite, with a much more powerful laser power transmission system. Such a massive orbital system will require on-orbit assembly, and will likely benefit from remote assembly and/or the Chinese astronauts on the Chinese space station Tiandong.
Phases 3 and 4 of this plan would keep scaling up, with a planned date of 2035 and 2050, respectively, with 10 MW and 2GW *(2,000MW). These power satellites would require transmission arrays larger than 100 meters and around 1 kilometer, respectively.
You can read the details of this plan in the dedicated scientific paper, published under the title “Retro-directive microwave power beam steering technology for space solar power station”.
Forecasting China’s Green Energy Strategy
From these various news, we can start to piece together the long-term plan of the Chinese scientific and political leadership regarding its energy strategy.
Up to 2030, the goal is still mostly energy security and pollution minimization, with more onshore and offshore wind, solar farms, and tried-and-tested nuclear reactor designs.
For 2030-2040, continuous expansion of solar capacity with mass deployment of battery parks, and the continuation of 10+ nuclear reactor /year deployment start to seriously decarbonize the Chinese economy.
From 2040+ onward, orbital solar tests and the building of the Moon base to exploit local resources can start providing massive silicon resources for space-based manufacturing of solar panels, not just space assembly. After all, 20% of the lunar regolith is made of silicon, the base element from which solar panels’ polysilicon is made, with iron, aluminum, and titanium also useful materials for manufacturing.
Source: AnthroFuturism
This could be the final form of China’s green energy ambitions, not only providing the country, but the entire planet with a source of unlimited, abundant, stable, and reliable solar energy, using nothing but human ingenuity and the Moon’s mineral riches.
For that matter, if this vision is not realized by China, it probably should be done so by other nations and visionary entrepreneurs.
It can also be noted that such a massive orbital energy production could equally be powering humanity’s expansion into the solar system, from space-based spaceship production to laser-powered solar sails.
