U.S. solar companies hurting as prices fall

Three U.S. solar cell companies (Solyndra, Evergreen Solar, and SpectraWatt) declared bankruptcy this week, as falling prices made it harder for these companies to compete. While overall sales of solar panels are up, prices are dropping rapidly as new factories in China, which are subsidized by the Chinese government, are flooding the market. Good Related posts: Solar panel demand starting to increase in this quarter Battery firm Ener1 predicts hybrid price cuts Wired: 10 Companies Reinventing our Energy Infrastructure

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U.S. solar companies hurting as prices fall

Solar Cell Challenges

Share Trade-off between Profitability and Inventory Clearance Becomes the Biggest Challenge for Solar Cell Manufacturers July 27, 2011 — According to the latest survey conducted by EnergyTrend, manufacturers indicated that they are conservative about September orders and the PV market of 3Q11. On the other hand, the spot price of polysilicon remained at a high level. The Chinese market demand still stayed high while other markets showed signs of slowing. According to EnergyTrend, downstream manufacturers are conservative about spot price trend of polysilicon , primarily because most orders from large manufacturers are signed on contractual terms, and few make purchase on the spot market. The second tier and third tier manufacturers are the main active participants on the polysilicon spot market, but their combined purchase volume is much less than top tier manufacturers. Therefore, it is estimated that the current spot market situation can not support polysilicon manufacturers to raise the price. Source: EnergyTrend This weeks survey shows that the polysilicon price remained stable with the main trading price between $52/kg and $54/kg. Notably, the trading price in the Chinese market is slightly higher than other areas, ranging from $55/kg to $58/kg with the average price of polysilicon remaining at $54.55/kg. In terms of Si wafer price, the average market spot price of mono-Si wafer stayed stable, and the main trading price stayed between $2.6/piece and $2.65/piece. The current trading price of multi-Si wafer remanded between $1.95/piece and $2.1/piece, but the top tier manufacturers price has increased to $2.0/piece. Comparatively speaking, the average price of multi-Si wafer has slightly risen by 0.05% to $2.051/piece while that of mono-Si waver has increased by 0.04% to $2.632/piece. As for solar cells and modules, due to strong demand for high conversion efficiency solar cells, the price remained relatively high with the highest price above $0.9/Watt. In addition, from perspectives of the production line, the output volume of solar cell with conversion efficiency under 16.4% accounts for 10. Although the demand for high conversion efficiency solar cells stays strong, manufacturers still need to take selling lower conversion efficiency product into consideration. Therefore, with the pressure of trading price adjustment for lower efficiency products still remaining, trade-off between profitability and inventory clearance is the biggest challenge for solar cell manufacturers. According to EnergyTrend, cell prices fluctuated this week and lower priced products has dragged down the average price by 0.62% to $0.797/Watt. On the other hand, the average price of module, affected by Chinese manufacturers price quotation, has continuously decreased by 0.78% to $1.265/Watt. According to current market situation, manufacturers indicated that they put much focus on the Chinese local governments subsidies. To date, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Qinghai provinces have announced their local subsidies. Among those, the subsidy of Qinghai government attracted wide attention of Chinese PV manufacturers. However, EnergyTrend believes that fund availability is the key determinant factor for the subsidy programs future success. Furthermore, subsidy releases show the Chinese local governments support for local PV industry developments. In particular, Jiangsu and Shandong, their PV industry developments have reached a certain scale. EnergyTrend indicates that the subsidy release can help locally based manufacturers to overcome challenge of the oversupply market. Notably, the Qinghai government attempts to support its PV industry growth through the new subsidy in the hope of making Qinghai province become a big PV production base and market place. Currently, the Qinghai government has achieved the fundamental goal. However, the Chinese market is now the worlds biggest PV production base. At this stage, the accumulated production capacity in the southeast China can fully already meet the projected annual domestic market demand through 2020. Additionally, the northwestern China has also released new subsidy policy that might further spur the production output. Therefore, EnergyTrend believes that the risk of Chinese PV industry forming a bubble may increase, if the oversupply situation continues or even worsens without guidelines.

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Solar Cell Challenges

Cleantech Venture Demonstrates Collaboration Between US and China

–OnGreen – Worlds Largest Online Cleantech Marketplace Launches– Los Angeles, Calif. March 23, 2011 OnGreen , the worlds largest cleantech marketplace announced today the launch of its website, OnGreen.com, out of a successful beta. The website is a comprehensive destination for cleantech professionals, connecting cleantech businesses and entrepreneurs with investors, expertise and resources. Read more on Cleantech Venture Demonstrates Collaboration Between US and China…

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Cleantech Venture Demonstrates Collaboration Between US and China

Geothermal Information On Heating Systems And Energy

Dean Forster asked: You are keen to brush up your awareness on geothermal energy sources. Do you have any FAQs pertaining to geothermal information? Well, this article may be able to answer some of your queries. The word geothermal is derived from the Greek words ‘geo’. Geo means earth and ‘therma’ means heat. So, combined together, geothermal means heat from the earth. There are a number of natural sources for geothermal energy. The Enhanced Geothermal Systems or the hot dry rocks, hot springs, magma and hot geysers are a part of volcanic activities. The geopressured and hydrothermal brines are some of the examples of geothermal energy sources. More than twenty countries around the globe use geothermal energy for the generation of power. These countries include the U.S. France, Iceland, and Peoples Republic of China, Japan, Italy, New Zealand, Kenya, Mexico, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Russia, Philippines and Nicaragua. Quite an impressive list of countries, wouldnt you agree? Well, these countries have opted geothermal heating systems for a simple reason. These systems offer unmatched benefits over the traditionally used cooling and heating systems. Geothermal heating also helps to lower the costs of operating. It is the only system that can cut the utility bills by thirty to fifty percent as compared to conventional cooling and heating systems. With an environment-friendly impact, these systems are a reliable ground source which is used for heating. It is naturally renewable as well as non polluting. Geothermal systems have low maintenance costs because all of its equipments are protected either underground or indoors. The life span of the geothermal systems is remarkably long. It has a life expectancy of almost thirty years. As a matter of fact, the ground loops are even warranted for up to fifty years. You can find out more about geothermal heating and cooling at => http://www.geothermalheatingcost.com Another benefit of a geothermal system is that it is a single system which provides both cooling and heating. These systems are also able to drafts and provide better indoor comfort. Geothermal systems can also be inexpensively and easily expanded. It can be subdivided to fit building additions or remodeling, as they are designed for flexibility. These systems are also energy efficient and are extremely safe. Users dont face any danger of carbon monoxide poisoning or gas leaks. Geothermal system is packed with a number of advantages, particularly economic. The key economic advantage of a geothermal cooling and heating system is that it is highly energy efficient. For every unit of energy that it utilizes, it produces 2.5 to 3.5 units of heat. This makes its average efficiency almost three hundred percent! This means you dont have to spend sleepless nights worrying about the bills! Thus, a geothermal system provides a user with utmost convenience, quality and comfort. It gives the highest value for each dollar spent on its purchase. With this discussion pertaining to geothermal information, do opt for it now! Solar power Read more on Geothermal Information On Heating Systems And Energy… Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Geothermal Information On Heating Systems And Energy

Green Electricity Sources

Green electricity can be provided in many different ways. First, let’s take a look at one of the most widely used sources of green electricity in the world. Hydroelectricity has the advantage over many types of green electricity for being the longest-lived source of green electricity. There are hydroelectric plants around the planet that have been in operation in excess of 100 years. Hydroelectric power is currently experiencing a resurgence of growth in areas of the world like Asia, with China currently taking the lead in development. Hydroelectricity features the conversion of water energy into electricity. In the simplest of terms, hydroelectricity functions by utilizing the gravitational flow of water to meet and turn turbine blades. The turbine drives a rotor in a generator that produces electricity. Many hydroelectric plants are associated in the public mind with large hydroelectric dams, although plants using straight river flow also generate hydroelectricity. Hydroelectric power is generally regarded as being one of the cleanest methods to produce green electricity. Geothermal power is another source used to generate green electricity. Geothermal power utilizes the natural heat from below the earth’s surface to create and capture steam. There are a number of ways of achieving this. One is to simply pipe out the natural steam below the earth’s surface and use it to run steam generators that generate electrical power in much the same way as hydroelectric generators. Another method is to run water through pipes under hot magma rock. The magma superheats the water in the pipes into steam and the steam is used to drive electric generators. The most widely preferred source of green electricity is solar power . In using solar power, photons are collected by the sun. The photons create DC electricity. In most solar energy systems, the DC electricity is converted into AC electricity using a device called an inverter. The electricity generated through solar energy can be stored in batteries. In residential applications there are normally two types of solar power options available. One is called bill reduction, and is used to supply electricity back to your grid. Your electric company then discounts your bill depending on how much electricity you generate with your solar panels. The other residential option is blackout protection, wherein your green electricity is stored in batteries and used in case of a power failure. Another type of green electricity is generated by wind power . Wind is air in motion created by the sun’s uneven heating of the earth. Wind turbines use blades to collect the energy of the wind. Similar to hydroelectric power and geothermal energy, the wind is used to turn a rotor that drives an electric generator. Green electricity is constantly evolving and there are other ways of creating electrical power from green sources. One of these is wave technology , in which the ocean is used as a source of electrical power generation. Certainly, green electricity is the trend of the future, as more and more humans are moving away from the environmentally degrading use of fossil fuels to clean energy driven electricity. To learn more about ways to go green, save money and help the planet, go here to receive a FREE green living tip delivered to your email inbox daily: FreeTipsForGoingGreen.com Read more on Green Electricity Sources… Energy Tags: solar power , hybrid cars Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This!

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Aeroturbine – Next Generation Wind Energy

Zeeshan Minhas asked: Aero turbines can be easily considered as the next generation of small-scale wind energy generation. As most of us are aware that installing a windmill on individual basis is not preferable because of both, cost and production efficiency, and that’s why till now wind energy was limited to windy regions all over the world, other factors like noise pollution and dangers of bird killing made windmills non popular amongst many for the past 2 decades. But all this is about to change with the invention of Double-helix wind turbine, more commonly known as aero turbines. This invention of DR. Bill Becker of university Illinois & Chicago is down to earth and simple when it comes to design but the approach to harvest the wind energy is very efficient and cost effective. The propellers of these aero turbines look more like an electric beater then a blade, because these wind turbines are absolutely silent and not very large they can be easily placed on rooftops and fixed on windy edges of high raised buildings. Aero turbines are caged in a pipe frame are light in weight, and slow moving wind energy generators so they do not propose any threat to wildlife, and work fine in heavy snow fall. Hence special zoning, code exemptions or high insurance rates are not required for installing these wind machines. With two different types of propellers infused in the same structure aero turbines are efficient starters and efficient producers, at the same time. The inner savonius wind blades are efficient starters, with low production rate and start working in wind speed as low as 6mph, no matter if the wind is gusting and irregular or non directional, while the outer Darius wind blades start working in high winds, though these blades are poor starter but efficient producers, and can continue to generate electricity up to 70 mph., yet there unique design prevents them from a run away in high winds. Aerotecture International has developed two models, 510V AND 520H with a production capacity of 1kw and 1.8kw respectively. The cost of these aero turbines is $15,000 for the 510V and $21,000 for 520H, which is quite high but is expected to reduce with mass production, but the simplicity of the design has actually made it possible for many to attempt and make one for personal use. Once the technology hits China, the cost should drop to as low as $ 1500 to $ 2000 a unit or may be even lower which is not bad for such a low maintenance wind turbine. It wont be a surprise to find these wind machines installed under the bridges or on the roof tops of urban sky scrapers, maybe railway stations or highways to full fill the never ending energy needs. Water 4 Gas Read more on Aeroturbine – Next Generation Wind Energy… Energy Tags: alternative , alternative energy Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to Mister Wong Share this on Mixx Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Tweet This! energy

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BNET roundup of ten serious nuclear fusion projects

Nuclear fusion has been in the news lately – researchers at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California were able to bring all 192 lasers online at the same time and were able to heat a BB sized pellet of fuel to millions of degrees Fahrenheit. They still have a ways to go before Related posts: Nuclear fusion news: The National Ignition Facility and General Fusion, Inc – two different approaches to nuclear fusion General Fusion raises $9M in venture financing China joins search for fusion energy

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BNET roundup of ten serious nuclear fusion projects

GM to build hybrid motors in Baltimore and adding 200 jobs

General Motors this week said that it would start to make its next generation electric motors at its transmission plant in Baltimore, MD. GM is investing $246 million into the plant to make the new motors, which will add about 200 jobs to the payroll, and make it the first US electric motor manufacturing plant Related posts: General Motors to Build Hybrids in China in 2008 Kia Motors Showing Off New Hybrid Rio Green Motors and Toyota at Tokyo

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GM to build hybrid motors in Baltimore and adding 200 jobs

Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report

Heres my brief analysis of and comments on the recent IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change released from Bangkok, Thailand as it relates to alternative energy. Energy Efficient & Net Zero Energy Buildings Energy efficiency and renewable energy are rightly held to be a key ways to reduce carbon emissions. Buildings, both residential and commercial, are a significant emitter of greenhouse gasses. Solar hot water heating can be used to provide up to 70% of annual hot water needs for homes, it can also be used in commercial buildings that require significant hot water such as gyms and nursing homes. Geothermal (ground source heat pumps) is a lesser known source of alternative energy which can be used to both heat and cool buildings in a highly efficient way and is suited both to residential and commercial buildings. It can also be used to provide hot water. As bore holes and/or trenches need to be dug for geothermal to be installed, it is particularly suited to new builds. Electricity can be provided from renewable sources via the grid (e.g. wind power) or off-grid it can be generated using for example solar photovoltaic panels (PV). The use of insulation, natural light & shade, low energy lighting, motion detection lighting etc. can further reduce energy usage. As noted in the report appropriate building codes can minimise carbon emissions from buildings. Alternative Energy = Energy Security The report notes that nations seeking energy security (security of supply) can help achieve it using alternative energy. Nations lacking their own fossil fuels resources should be concerned with the negative impact reliance on fossil fuels can have on their economies. By increasing utilisation of alternative energy resources, nations can increase their energy security. Transport Policy & Fossil Fuels Subsidies I was disappointed by the reports lack of vision on transport. It correctly notes that past increases in efficiency in internal combustion engine (ICE) design have been used to increase power rather than fuel efficiency meaning vehicle carbon emissions have continued to climb. This trend has even continued into hybrid vehicles with performance being favoured over fuel economy (e.g. Lexus hybrid cars). Mention was made of making increased use of biofuels, which can actually significantly increase carbon emissions (see this post on Palm Oil Biodiesel ). The glaring emission, is the need for a fundamental shift from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles. I got the impression the report in trying to build consensus was avoiding treading on any toes. Perhaps thats why it recommended only reducing rather than eliminating the subsidisation of fossil fuels. Research and Development + Technology Transfer India and China will soon be at the top of the list of carbon emitting nations. The report wrongly suggests that because many new power stations are being built in developing nations, they will be using new energy efficient designs and technologies. While new power stations may be more efficient than those built decades ago, for cost reasons less efficient technology is usually used (for more details see this post on Clean Coal ). The report notes there have been low levels of investment in research and development. Investment is needed now and much more should be done to aid the transfer of the most energy efficient technologies between nations. IPCC working group report on Mitigation of Climate Change (pdf link)

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Brief Analysis of Climate Change Report

China to Spend Billions on Alternative Energy

China is to spend billions on alternative energy and many times more on oil and coal. Tim Johnson of Knight Ridder reports that barely a dozen years ago the country didn’t need deep-sea oil ports, massive tank farms and a brawny foreign policy to procure oil in far-flung spots. Today, China is an oil-guzzling dragon with a voracious thirst, much like the United States. Supertankers stretching three football fields in length now wait to enter China’s deep-sea ports. The busiest oil terminal is at Ningbo on the East China Sea. Shipping records show that in November, supertankers arrived there from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Yemen, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Congo to feed a craving that’s helped drive up crude oil prices, rattle global politics and put China and the United States at odds in some of the world’s most unstable regions. China’s thirst for oil has emboldened Iran and complicated the refugee crisis in Sudan. With its economy growing at a 9 percent annual rate, China is also courting many of America’s oil suppliers, including Canada and Venezuela. Increasingly, the United States and China are throwing elbows as global rivals for energy. The tussle could get more aggressive if the two nations can’t manage to co-exist in the global energy contest. “We’ve got to start those discussions before the race for oil becomes as hot and dangerous as the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union,” Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said in a Nov. 30 speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. “If we let it go, this could end up in real military conflict, not just economic conflict.” It is interesting to note that this “race for oil” is framed as a zero sum game in which one country wins and another loses. An alternative would be international cooperation to maximise energy efficiency, minimise pollution and radically increase renewable energy. Compared with the United States, which consumes 25 percent of the world’s annual oil output, China burns only 6 percent of the world’s production. Yet its energy use is rising steeply. China exported more oil than it imported until 1993, when imports began to surge. This year, it’s importing 3.4 million barrels a day, and some estimates say that within a decade it’ll need 7 million barrels a day. Within two decades, demand could reach 12 million barrels a day, which would equal U.S. imports today. China’s oil thirst since 2000 has accounted for 40 percent of the global demand growth for crude oil. Senior Chinese officials grow testy at the suggestion that China’s rising needs are roiling oil markets, saying the nation is following a natural path to prosperity. “Some people complain that China is driving up oil prices. They think the reason lies in China’s high consumption of oil,” said Zhang Guobao, the vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission. But Zhang said that China’s per capita energy consumption is one-sixth of developed countries and deserves to rise. “Chinese people want to live a prosperous life. So the world should respect China’s right to development,” Zhang said. In other words Zhang is saying the Chinese have a right to an energy rich lifestyle, sound familiar? China still wastes energy, leaving huge potential savings from efficiency. To generate $1 million in economic output, China needs eight times more oil — or its energy equivalent — than Japan does. Chinese officials claim a turnabout in efficiency is under way. Last summer, China made fuel standards for cars more stringent than those in the United States, and a campaign is afoot to ramp up reliance on renewable energy. The United States and other western nations have an opportunity to help China to become as energy efficient as possible as fast as possible rather than trying to sell Chinese consumers gas guzzling SUVs. Some experts suggest long-term projections on China’s energy needs may be premature because the nation is capable of rapid adaptation and change, and of greater reliance on its vast coal reserves. Some 68 percent of China’s power comes from coal, and the nation is building electric power plants at a rate never seen before on Earth, fueling them from unsafe shafts where thousands of miners are killed each year. China built power plants this year generating 68 gigawatts of electricity and plans 80 more gigawatts of capacity in 2006, equal to the entire capacity of Britain. “It took the U.K. 110 years to build those 80 gigawatts,” said James M. Brock, an expert who advises the Beijing office of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a U.S. consultancy. Nonetheless, China is seeking oil security differently than other countries in East Asia. It has sent its three major state-owned oil companies to scour the globe and invest in foreign oil companies and oil fields. China, a relative newcomer to capitalism, allegedly deeply mistrusts the global oil markets, viewing them as distastefully volatile. Some analysts believe China’s strategy has led it to bid heavily — and even to overpay — for some assets. It’s adapted a very 19th century approach to energy security, where you seek an almost mercantilist lock-up of energy sources,” said John J. Hamre, the president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington public policy organization. China has some reason to be nervous. While imported oil makes up only about 12 percent of China’s total energy needs, its energy lifelines increasingly lead to the volatile Middle East. Some 60 percent of China’s oil imports come from the Persian Gulf region. Supertankers carrying the oil must pass through the pirate-infested Malacca Straits off Malaysia, where China’s oil is protected by the U.S. Navy. China is beefing up its own navy, but it still can’t protect faraway sea-lanes. To diversify its suppliers, China has gone oil shopping in Central Asia, West Africa and even in South and North America. Sometimes, Chinese oil companies simply bid high, as CNOOC, one of the national oil companies, did last summer when it offered $18.5 billion for the California oil company Unocal, a deal that was derailed by Capitol Hill critics who suggested that it threatened U.S. national security. At other times, Chinese diplomats trail the state oil companies, sweetening investment bids with offers of few-strings-attached aid packages, hands-off political support and weapons. “Everywhere the Chinese go in the developing world, they go with a lot of development money” said Gal Luft, a Washington-based analyst and the executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a non-profit organization that focuses on the relationship between energy needs and the economy and national security. China has offered large amounts of development aid in Africa, where it gets 28 percent of its imported crude and plays an increasingly important diplomatic role. Last year, China gave Angola, its second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, a $2 billion oil-backed loan to help repair its war-ravaged national infrastructure. China has courted oil-rich nations such as Sudan, Venezuela and Iran that are officially out of favour with Washington, even dangling the possibility of using its United Nations Security Council veto to protect them against sanctions. China last year repeatedly blocked U.N. attempts to punish Sudan for failing to stop atrocities in its Darfur region. China owns a 40 percent stake in the major oil consortium drilling in Sudan, and it buys half of Sudan’s crude exports. Eyeing Nigeria’s oil fields, China has offered Lagos some $7 billion in investments and said it may sell the country fighter jets too. Iran which won pledges from China last year for $70 billion worth of oil and natural gas deals, also enjoys vital support from Beijing. Iran now appears confident that it can resist pressure from the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program, certain that China will veto any attempt to impose U.N. sanctions. Reuters resports that a Chinese state-owned energy firm plans to invest at least $2.48 billion over the next five years in biomass, garbage treatment and other alternative energy projects. China Energy Conservation Investment Corp. made the plans to take advantage of a new law promoting renewable energy, which sets tariffs in favor of non-fossil energy such as wind, water and solar power and is due to take effect in January. “We see tremendous business opportunities from the new law,” the China Daily quoted Wang Yi, a senior company official, as saying. Coal provides some 70 percent of electricity in China, the world’s second-largest energy consumer and producer of greenhouse gases. The state-owned company has started building two wind farms and a new facility that would harness steam generated from garbage and sewage treatment to produce power, the newspaper said. The firm had budgeted about $1.1 billion to build the garbage-powered plant underway in eastern China and 10 others like it in other parts of the country over the next five years, Wang said. Another $1.1 billion would go toward constructing up to 30 biomass energy projects in major agricultural provinces, which use organic or woody material such as straw to make fuel or generate power. China has set a goal of getting 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, though it has acknowledged that coal will remain its primary source of electricity for decades to come. Comment Within the overall context China’s $2.48 billion investment in alternative energy seems insignificant. China is spending huge sums expanding dirty coal fired electricity production. These new plants are not “clean” coal plants and are certainly not carbon neutral (at least not before 2020 ). Huge amounts of energy is being wasted in China and this looks set to continue. China has some of the world’s worst industrial pollution. It doesn’t have to be this way. There is an opportunity for international development and cooperation to help China and the rest of the world avoid some of the worst negative consequences of rapid industrialisation. It won’t be cheap and it won’t be easy. Or we can seek to deny the Chinese the energy rich lifestyle that many in the west believe is their birthright. China – An Energy Timebomb? Watthead – Is Red China Going Green?

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China to Spend Billions on Alternative Energy