China speeding up clean energy development

China has approved several new hydropower projects, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The government is speeding up development of clean energy after an approvals slowdown in recent years because of concerns including environmental impact.

The National Development and Reform Commission  said in reports on its website that it had approved the construction of the 2.6GW Changheba hydropower project in Sichuan province this month.

The commission said it had also approved the 2.4-GW Guan'di hydropower station and the 600-megawatt Tongzilin hydropower project, both in Sichuan, in September.

The approvals come after the NDRC agreed in late October for China Three Gorges Power Corp to proceed with early-stage studies for the 8.7-GW Wudongde and 14-GW Baihetan hydropower projects.

The country's total hydropower capacity reached 200 GW in August and top energy official Zhang Guobao said capacity had to reach 380 GW by 2020 if the country was to meet its clean energy and emissions targets.

He said China needed to start building 120 GW of hydropower projects in the six years through 2015 given the longer construction time needed compared with coal-fired plants.


You can read the the full story at reuters.com.