China Tackles Rural Electrification

 

                A December 2002 report from Embassy Beijing.

 

                China is undertaking a $240 million "village power" electrification program in an effort to address the needs of the 30 million mostly rural Chinese who still lack electricity.  The U.S. Department of Energy is stepping up to help.  There may also be opportunities for U.S. equipment manufacturers.

 

Off-Grid Applications for Renewable Energy

 

                Chinese who lack electricity are primarily located in isolated rural villages away from the power grid, in mountainous or sparsely-populated provinces such as Tibet, Guizhou, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Hainan.  The astronomical costs of connecting these villages to the grid makes stand-alone "village power systems," often based on renewable energy sources such as mini-hydro, wind or photovoltaic solar power, a winning economic proposition.

 

                Nationally, 98% of all villages and 97% of all households have electricity, according to the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC).  To bring power to the remaining "dark" villages, China is implementing a $240 million program.  Rural electrification is not new, of course, but this program represents a major effort to tackle this old problem.

 

$240 Million for Hydropower and Photovoltaics

 

                The new nationwide program is called "Sending Electricity to the Countryside," or "song dian dao xiang" -- SDDX.  Phase One will bring electricity to 1 million people in 1,061 townships, primarily in western provinces.  The program relies heavily on hydropower (90% of planned capacity but only 1/3 of the projects) but also involves a significant amount of photovoltaic solar power (10% of planned capacity and 2/3 of the projects).  There will also be a small number of wind-solar hybrid projects (less than 2% of the projects).  There are no conventional coal-fired or diesel-powered generated plants envisioned in this program.

 

                Electrification and road building are two cornerstones of China's anti-poverty strategy.  Previous electrification programs have brought tiny (20-watt) home-use photovoltaic solar power systems to some rural districts in Tibet, for example.  One-third of the SDDX projects will be built in Tibet, one-quarter will be in Sichuan and 10% will be in Xinjiang.

 

Non-Connectivity Mostly in China's West

 

                Following is a table showing the number of people without electricity in China by province.  It is sorted by the percentage of the provincial population that lacks electricity.  (The total number of people without electricity is calculated by multiplying number of non-connected households by average household size.  Not all Chinese provinces are listed.)

 

Province                   People without Electricity          % of Population

 

Tibet                        1,374,000                                52.8

Guizhou                    4,839,000                                13.8

Yunnan                     3,741,000                                  8.9

Hainan                         658,000                                  8.2

Qinghai                        399,000                                  8.0

Gansu                       1,949,000                                  7.8

Xinjiang                    1,173,000                                  6.5

Ningxia                        244,000                                  4.9

Inner Mongolia            831,000                                  3.6

Guangxi                    1,461,000                                  3.3

Shaanxi                    1,032,000                                  2.9

Jiangxi                      1,090,000                                  2.7

Sichuan                    2,158,000                                  2.6

Henan                      2,123,000                                  2.3

Chongqing                   619,000                                 2.0

Hunan                         934,000                                  1.5

Shanxi                         407,000                                  1.3

Hubei                          428,000                                  0.7

Anhui                          284,000                                  0.5

Fujian                          117,000                                  0.4

Guangdong                  188,000                                  0.3

Heilongjiang                   29,000                                nil

Liaoning                        15,000                                nil

Hebei                            49,000                                nil

 

                Lack of electricity is most severe in China's westernmost and southernmost regions.  Tibet stands out as a very "dark" area, a reflection of the region's poverty and ultra-rural population.

 

Electricity for Development, Not Just to Watch TV

 

                At a December 2002 symposium on village power programs co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Mr. Shi Lishan of SDPC gave an overview of China's energy picture.  China ranks second globally in installed capacity (338 gigawatts in 2000) and in annual output (1.483 trillion kilowatt/hours in 2000).  Shi described three problems with China's electricity and energy situation: 1) an inadequate grid, 2) over-dependence on coal, and 3) bad management.

 

                Dr. Debra Lew from DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) noted the need for village-sized power systems, not just small home systems.  A mini-grid in a village can provide electricity vital for economic development.  It creates options for running heavier equipment such as saws, pumps, refrigerators, grinders and sewing machines.

 

                Lew said that hybrid systems which combine two or more energy sources (for example, mixed wind-solar systems) can be cheaper in the long run, easier to maintain, and more reliable than single-source systems which place all the energy "eggs" in one basket.  Accurate assessment of local energy resources and the true costs of installation and operation are important for choosing the right system, she said.  Local energy resources include wind and solar resources, but also might be something as unexpected and exotic as coconut shells.

 

Focus on Institutions, Not Technology

 

                Dr. Lew and other speakers emphasized that resolution of institutional issues is just as important as overcoming technical obstacles in keeping village power systems up and running.  The key issue is sustainability, not installation.  Important aspects include marketing, distribution, sales, service, maintenance and revenue collection.  Part of the institutional picture is to accurately assess the project's goals, in terms of factors such as cost and reach.

 

                Reliable revenue from generating electricity is essential to costs the costs of upkeep and supplies.  Enforcing the payment of electricity bills also helps regulate demand.  Public education and energy-efficient appliances can maximize the utility of the village power system.  Running power systems in a business-like way promotes replicability, Dr. Lew said.  So does having a large number of installations clustered near each other (making it easier to share maintenance costs).  Maintenance support for the system has to be planned in from the beginning; it is a crucial part of any energy system.

 

Comment: DOE Program Advances U.S. Interests

 

                DOE support for village energy programs (see also EST Newsletter reporting on a wind-diesel hybrid demonstration project installed in Shandong, at http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/sandt/estnews083002.htm) is helping China to focus on humdrum but important institution-building as well as "gee whiz" technology.  At the same time, China's "Sending Electricity to the Countryside" initiative is an important opportunity for U.S. manufacturers of renewable energy technology ready to meet the environmental and maintenance challenges of operation in China' more remote corners.

 

For Further Information

 

                Further information on DOE programs is available at NREL's sustainable village power website (http://www.nrel.gov).  The U.S. Agency for International Development's Global Village Energy Partnership website (http://www.gvep.org) is also a useful reference, although USAID is not active in China in promoting the use of renewable energy.