China cementing global dominance of renewable energy and technology
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/06/china-cementing-global-dominance-of-renewable-energy-and-technology
China cementing global dominance of renewable energy and technology
It now owns five of the worlds six largest solar-module manufacturing firms and the largest wind-turbine manufacturer
Friday 6 January 2017 09.00 GMT Last modified on Friday 6 January 2017 09.02 GMT
China is cementing its global dominance of renewable energy and supporting technologies, aggressively investing in them both at home and around the globe, leaving countries including the US, UK and Australia at risk of missing the growing market.
A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (Ieefa) found Chinas dominance in renewables is rapidly spreading overseas, with the country accelerating its foreign investment in renewable energy and supporting technologies.
Analysing Chinese foreign investments over US$1bn, Ieefa found 13 in 2016, worth a combined $32bn. That represented a 60% jump over similar investments in 2015.
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The big foreign investments in 2016 included two in Australia, two in Germany and two in Brazil, as well as deals in Chile, Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan and Vietnam.
In Australia, China Light & Power struck a $1.1bn deal, buying power from wind and solar farms.
In Chile, Tianqi Lithium spent $2.5bn acquiring a 25% stake of a lithium miner and processor. (Lithium is essential for lithium batteries used in electric vehicles and home battery storage.)
In Germany, Beijing Enterprises Holdings Ltd spend $1.6bn on a Waste to Energy development.
The report noted the global expansion cements Chinas total domination of renewable energy growth globally. China now owned:
Five of the worlds six largest solar-module manufacturing firms
The largest wind-turbine manufacturer
The worlds largest lithium ion manufacturer
The worlds largest electricity utility
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