Capacity Building for the Rapid Commercialization of Renewable Energy in China-capacity building

Project Approach
In many cases targeted capacity building activities and technical assistance can be particularly effective in overcoming persisting challenges facing the commercialization of renewables in China. The present Project has tailored its activities to address a number of key capacity building and technical assistance needs. The rationale behind the selection of these areas, and the activities to be undertaken on the Project are detailed below. Activities will build around the nuclei of the Project technology application projects, providing a focused commercialization effort in key renewable energy market-sectors. Furthermore, capacity building will have benefits in facilitating the broader commercialization of renewable energy in China.
	Business Development and Financing
	Standards Development, Testing and Certification
	Resource Assessment and Establishment of GIS Databases
	Study Tours
	Grid Wind Site Development

*Rationale*
The transition from a conventional, centrally planned, energy supply model to a more diverse system with a multitude of roleplayers requires, by definition, the development of national business and financing capacity. The unique nature of renewable energy markets, and the relatively short-lived international experience with them, also explain why capacity building needs are particularly great in this market sector. In China, many of these needs are accentuated as the country undergoes its wider transition from a communist economy to a socialist market economy.
*Project Activities*
The Project will implement a range of workshops and training activities with commercialization objectives. These will target specific renewable energy market sectors, complementing the technology application projects. Particular activities will focus on:
	Generic activities with broad participation for business and finance training;
	Project development, feasibility studies, project evaluation;
	Business training (IPPs, ESCOs), and financing mechanisms, etc.;
	Entrepreneurial training, etc.;
*Status*
In April 2000 the Project held a Business and Finance Mechanisms for Renewable Energy Commercialization in China workshop in Beijing. The workshop brought together stakeholders from the business, finance, and policy-making communities to identify the most critical constraints on the commercial development if renewable energy applications in China, and identified some key areas where the SETC Project could make valuable contributions. Later, in July 2000, CREIA provided training for key CREIA members and staff in a Project Management Training Programme conducted in cooperation with a complimentary WWF business training event. In 2001 the Project will intensify business and finance capacity building activities. Early events will include: Ø Biogas project development workshop (Hangzhou, January); Ø Training for the domestic financing community (Shanghai, March); Ø Workshop to explore innovative business and finance models for off-grid energy provision (Qinghai, March)

Rationale

In the past, market penetration of renewable energy technologies has often been limited by their higher costs when compared to conventional alternatives. However, experience has shown that if industry attempts to increase competitiveness by manufacturing cheaper, sub-standard equipment, customer confidence can be lost very quickly, and along with it any chance of future market development. The adoption of industry-wide production standards guarantees a quality product to the consumer and at the same time protects the interests of the renewable energy industry. Furthermore, recognised standards can provide industry with a valuable marketing tool in the form of a benchmark from which to promote its products.

Project Activities

In consultation with the Chinese renewable energy industry through a series of workshops and training events, the project will build consensus for the establishment of national technology standards. Standards of performance for 5 candidate technologies (SWHs, hybrid systems, intermediate-scale wind turbines, bagasse cogeneration systems, and industrial-scale biogas systems) will be codified, providing the renewable energy industry with a benchmark from which to promote its products. SWHs have been targeted specifically for a certification activity because of the already extensive market penetration of this technology in China and the prevalence of poor quality equipment in the marketplace. Standard SWH certification and testing procedures will be developed under the Project, in part through the support of a testing centre.

Status

During the first year of the Project (March 1999 – March 2000), interviews were conducted with potential candidates for the solar thermal certification testing facility that will be supported by the Project. In addition a project working group has been set up to ensure effective implementation of activities in this arena. On September 14th-15th 2000 a Solar Water Heater Standards Orientation Workshop was held in Beijing at which the broad solar thermal community in China and international experts discussed the establishment of a framework standards process for drafting national SWH standards, and identified the pressing tasks to be accomplished to this end. During the next phase of the Project, an institution will be selected by a competitive bidding and consultative processes to host a national testing and certification centre.

For Project work on standards in other technology arenas, CREIA has been working to mobilize and build consensus amongst the domestic manufacturing community. At the same time the Project is pursuing opportunities to support existing efforts, such as ongoing work to develop national standards for wind turbines.

Project introduction and progress

SWH test standard and establish the national level SWH center. The project is undertaken by China standard research institute, developed five new standards. July 7^th , 2001, SETC resource department organized “National SWH testing center assessment meeting”. According to the result from experts and representative from the enterprises, it was decided to establish three SWH test center, which are China construction institute, Yunnan Normal School, Hubei test center

Rationale

There is a basic knowledge of renewable energy resources in China in the form of wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal resource databases. However, existing renewable resource information is inadequate, posing constraints both on policy development and on investment promotion.

Current databases are incomplete in terms of characterizing the quantity and distribution of resources. In addition, the quality of data acquisition systems used for collecting and monitoring resources is poor data is often collected by meteorological offices and other sources at limited sites and on a discontinuous basis. Such data has limited value in the context of commercial decision-making. For the data that is available, such as the national database for biomass resources, this has not yet been converted in geographical information system formats (GIS), for producing resource maps and for convenient analysis. Other databases for wind, solar, and geothermal, can be augmented by data that is available in international databases such as global weather monitoring and satellite databases.

Project Activities

Renewable energy resource data will be deepened and widened through creation of a resource inventory database and development of GIS (geographic information systems) databases by a team of international and local experts. Initial Project activities focus on database format development and identification of information sources in China. Format development includes procedures used to assess data quality and design of an effective interface between the national database and the public. In addition, a structured training program on advanced design and analysis GIS software for database development, including field training, will be conducted.

Status

A consortium, including NREL of the USA and CRED of PR China, was recruited in March 2000 to undertake the work on resource assessment and GIS database creation. During the next twelve months two phases of equipment procurement will be completed to provide enhanced hardware and software capability for advanced GIS mapping and analysis. The first formal interactive training sessions will start in January/Februrary 2001 in China using NREL personnel to train experienced domestic groups in advanced GIS techniques. An initial survey of renewable energy resource databases in China has been conducted by the Center for Renewable Energy Development, and this information will be used to initiate the development of the national database inventory for the project. Inventory database development will be initiated in the second calendar year. The GIS project will also be linked to two resource assessment projects, which will be initiated during the second year for wind resource mapping and village power resource assessment and evaluation.

Project introduction

The contractor is SDPC China renewable energy center; the contract money is US$261,30.

International and domestic experts composed the expert group. By collecting the present renewable data and develop the geography information system, establish a specific renewable energy database. The primary stage of the project has the task to develop the structure of the database and confirm the domestic information source. The database structure development is mainly including the input method for certificated data and the interface for connecting with other public database. Apart from that, a serial training package will be implemented, including the capability to utilize geography information system soft ware to design and analyze.

The system execution has been committed to Beijing Normal School, geography department. November 2001, the system has finished the primary stage and performed a presentation to relevant institutional. The system also will be combining with the investment opportunity database of China Renewable Energy Association, to establish a dynamic searchable information database.

Rationale

A series of study tours under the Project are aimed at gaining first hand knowledge of the status of advanced technology development of direct interest to the Project, and for wider application in China. Objectives include strengthening contacts between domestic international experts and exchanging ideas, particularly relating to institutional aspects of renewable energy commercialization

Project Activities

Successful tours of the Netherlands and the UK (May 1999), Australia and Japan (March 2000), the USA (April 2000), and Europe (May 2000) have already been taken place. Since Spring 2000, the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA) has taken the lead in the organization of study tours and has plans to conduct further tours in the future.

6^th-18^th of May, 2001, SETC organized a delegation went to Netherlands and Germany for 12 days renewable energy study tour, and in the duration, the delegation also participated the International Sustainable energy exhibition and conference.

2002 June 16^th – July 2^nd, Europe Solar water heater study tour

2002 August 12^th – 26^th, Bagasse Australia and U.S. Study tour