Solar Electric Energy in Western China -- Gansu, Qinghai and Tibet

A report from U.S. Embassy, Beijing May 1996

This report is one of a series from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on sustainable development in China

Summary: While solar electric energy is well established in China for well-to-do industrial customers, delivery of systems to poor, isolated house holds faces financial, equipment support and quality control challenges in Gansu and Tibet. A U.S. Department of Energy program in Gansu Province is addressing these challenges through revolving funds, training, engineering, testing and U.S. equipment. Prices of commercial systems in Qinghai are comparable to subsidizeded systems sold in Gansu, though quality may not be as good. By replacing yak butter as fuel, solar electric powered lights and solar powered satellite receivers not only will extend the teaching day in boarding schools in nomadic areas but also result-in improved nutrition.

Renewable Energy In China

An inventory of China's solar energy resources prepared by China's solar energy high level expert committee includes: Solar greenhouses (0.342 million hectares), a feature of the agricultural landscape that revolutionized the winter diet of much of China's population; wealthier households in China use solar / water heating for convenience and cost (2.3 million square meters installed); passive solar homes (l. 2 million square meters) house 60 thousand families; 150 thousand solar cookers (with 1.6 square meter parabolic reflectors) replace combustion of 70 thousand tons of biomass (stalks and animal dung) a year; photovoltaic sources power communications systems (710 KW) and remote housing (760 KW); solar powered traffic control devices (130 KW) and pipeline protection devices (45 KW) are part of the transportation infrastructure, solar cells power environmental monitoring and warning systems (forestry, river and marine hydrology, weather; 85 KW) and, solar panels also supply communications (land and microwave) relay stations (710 KW). This report addresses solar electric energy. Future reports will address wind energy and a future report will address biomass.

Delivering Solar Electric Energy to Rural Households

Application of solar energy in China is now real, but sporty. Solar electric energy is well established as a technical discipline with a large number of suppliers, industrial and household users. However, delivering solar electric energy to nomadic families and isolated villages and households (who could benefit the most from it and can afford it the least), is difficult. Successful programs must educate users, deliver high quality reliable equipment at an affordable cost, perhaps provide some financing, and follow up with after-sales support and maintenance. In rural areas, television, "the window to the rest of China," radio and lights to assist the education needs of families, not only drive demand, but will also bring radical transformations to China's rural areas. In China the problem is one of scale (800 million rural residents) and regional wealth diversity.

The Gansu Rural Electrification Project

The U.S. Department of Energy, under the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Protocol initialed by Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary in Beijing in February 1995, sponsors the Gansu Rural Electrification Project. DOE established the project, in collaboration with the Gansu Solar Electric Fund, to promote the development of a sustainable commercial infrastructure for the introduction, on a sustainable basis, of solar electric energy technology to supply the electrical needs of rural Gansu residents. Important goals are to introduce U.S. Technology, to improve quality of systems through better testing and systems integration. Financing the project itself through a revolving account, the project will lay a foundation for expansion to other regions of western China. Three Lanzhou-based companies, one of them a military conversion plant that makes printed circuit boards and high efficiency fluorescent bulbs, will be vendors in this project. These suppliers will guarantee the components they produce.

Funding -- The project targets poor households in Gansu Province. The Poverty Alleviation Office in Gansu intends to subsidize up to 20 per cent of the retail price of the systems for end users. Funds provided by China: State Council Office for Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development in Beijing (54 per cent), the Gansu Planning Commission (18 %), the Gansu Economic and Trade Commission (18 per cent), and the Gansu Solar Electric Fund (l0 per cent) will contribute balance-of-system hardware, marketing, training and project monitoring with the RMB equivalent of USD 200 thousand. DOE will contribute photovoltaic modules, batteries, technical expertise, system integration and training for the project worth a total of USD 200 thousand.

Systems -- The project expects to install 600 20-W systems with a 40 Ampere-hour battery that powers two 8-Watt florescent lights and a black and white television for two to three hours per night. While the base price is RMB 2400, the sales price will be subsidized at different locations with sale prices ranging from RMB 1000 to 2400 (1 USD = 8.2 RMB) depending on the financial means of the villages. In addition several Gansu schools will install larger systems the U.S. will provide and the project will also introduce, on an experimental basis, satellite reception for nomadic herders.

Training -- is an essential part of the sustainability of the project. It is training technicians on the technical aspects of photovoltaic systems, quality control, basic PV systems, installation, maintenance and management principles to provide the infrastructure that will support systems in the field. The project also will train engineers in system design and quality control to build capacity for design and manufacture. The project is also building infrastructure to manage a revolving account that will support the commercialization objective. A "train-the trainers" program will allow expansion of the program.

Spreading The Gansu Experience To Other Areas

The Ministry of Agriculture, through its rural energy offices throughout China, is committed to expansion of the Gansu project to three other provinces in the near term. It will establish a training and testing facility in Gansu to supply services to the greater western China region. In addition the Ministry of Agriculture, at the county and township level, it will supply marketing and monitoring services, will train local village personnel for system installation and maintenance and will make provisions for spare parts at the village level.

Solar Electric Lighting Shop In Xining, Qinghai Province

ESTCouns and EST Assistant visited the Gaoda Tong Family Solar Lighting Store that sells solar lighting units in Xining, Qinghai Province. This four year old shop bought the know-how that it uses in its own factory from Qinhuangdao City in Hebei Province in 1993. Their factory in Xining employs 30 people. Mr. Tong's price for one set l0 W solar light unit is RMB l10 0 and for a 20 W unit the price is RMB 1760. This unit will support lights, TV set and radio for 7 to 8 hours. The solar panel alone, for a l0 W unit, operating at 16.5 V will cost 650 RMB.

Customers can choose from two kinds of solar panels: one comes from the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone while the other comes from Ningbo. The cells produced in Shenzhen that drive the 20 Watt system usually take three hours of sunshine to charge the batteries. The l0 W unit produced in Ningbo needs five hours to charge the batteries.

Who Are The Customers In Xining?

The customers are Tibetan herders who travel 1000 to 2000 kilometers to Xining from Tibet, Sichuan, southern Gansu and Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai. According to the proprietor, the Tibetan herders speak Chinese and they trust the solar shop that will guarantee maintenance for 5 years. Usually the Tibetan herders will come to the shop in August, September and October before they settle in the wintering grounds. The store sells about 1300 sets per year. Seventy per cent of sales taking place in the peak late summer-early fall months. Usually the herders will buy the equipment in cash, the store does not extend credit and it receives no government subsidies.

Promotion Of Solar Electric Energy In Tibet

During a visit to the Solar Energy Research and Demonstration Center of Tibet in Lhasa in early April 1996, Ms. Zhang Jie, Director of the Center (fax 86-0891-6333670) told ESTCouns about development of solar electric power in Tibet.According to Zhang there are 700 KW of solar electric power installed in Tibet. Five counties with no connection to power plants rely solely on solar electricity. The Shuanghu Special Administrative Region in the Naqu Prefecture has the biggest solar power station in China, which generates 30 KW.

In Tibet, out of 889 townships, 400 will have solar energy based satellite land receiving stations by the end of 1996: 200 already have been established and 200 more will be finished in 1996. One of the main motivations to set up these receivers is to provide remote education through the China Satellite Education Network. This remote education program was started by the Beijing Teacher's University with assistance from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Two channels are now operational.

To further promote the use of solar electric energy, the institute would like to see cooperative projects with the U.S. that will:

-- Build a demonstration village with solar houses, solar electricity and educate visitors about the benefits of solar energy.

-- Develop solar based pumping technologies for deep wells, since in many places 30 per cent of the shallow underground water has some harmful elements.

-- Establish a program similar to the one in Qinghai to provide 8 to l0 W solar lights to the population which can not afford them and which will require subsidies from the Central Government.

Solar Electric Energy, Nutrition And Education Of Nomadic Populations

Solar electric energy can be a big-contributor to the nutrition of nomadic populations. This connection may seem odd at First, but nomads in the Republic of Mongolia and Qinghai and Tibet in China rely on edible fat (yak butter) as fuel for lamps. Since yak butter is essential to caloric intake, its priority use is for food rather than light. Consequently, solar electric energy in nomadic areas, not only contributes to quality of life but also has a direct impact on sustainability of food supply. This impact is magnified in boarding schools for nomadic populations which operate on very tight in-kind budgets (in most cases parents use food to pay a large fraction of school fees) and where feeding children and teachers is always a challenge. The success of schools in retaining teachers depends on providing light s for reading and, satellite reception to receive educational programs and to reduce isolation. In addition, educational success relies on the ability of children to do their homework. Solar electric power make this all possible.

Comment

Introducing solar energy to the countryside in China faces the same challenges as elsewhere in the world, i.e., those who need it most are those who can least afford it. China has an advantage because an industrial infrastructure can provide all the components. However, quality control for solar cells, batteries and controllers will remain a problem for a long time to come. For nomadic populations, solar electric energy will broaden opportunities for education and increase caloric uptake simultaneously.

Dr. William Wallace, from the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Boulder, Co, briefed ESTCouns on the Gansu program during a program review visit to China.

Other reports on PRC environment, science and technology issues are available on the U.S. Embassy Beijing web page at http://www.redfish.com/USEmbassy-China/sandt/sandt.htm