[p2p-research] China Leading World in Green Energy

[Alex Rollin]

On the subject of solar et al...
China Leading World in Green Energy

This idea of China being ahead of the game in anything environment  
protection related probably strikes readers as ironic, given reports  
of extensive industrial pollution, such as air pollution on a scale  
that is changing weather patterns, large scale lead poisoning, and  
cadmium in the soil. As Forbes commented recently, "China: Where  
Poisoning People Is Almost Free."

But we pointed out in April that China had been out for some time to  
take the lead in electric cars. Not only has the US fallen behind in  
battery technology, but we also gave up the know-how for the related  
drive trains:
h torque DC servomotors are the sine qua non for electric vehicles.

High torque performance is achieved via magnets made of alloys of  
various so called "rare earth" elements. Prominent among the alloys  
are samarium-cobalt and neodymium-iron-boron. GM held a majority  
interest in Magnaquench, an Indiana company with expertise in such  
materials and magnet fabrication. GM however decided that electric  
motors did not fit into its "core competencies."

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Telegraph tells us China is taking  
ground on other green energy fronts, namely solar panels and wind  
turbines:
China is running away with the green technology prize. It has  
conquered a third of the world market for solar cells and is on a  
breakneck course to build 100 gigawatts of wind turbines by 2020,  
doubling again the global capacity for wind power across vast  
stretches of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.

But potentially more important, China is on the cutting edge of price  
performance:
Suntech Power in Wuxi has just broken the world record for capturing  
photovoltaic solar energy, achieving a 15.6pc conversion rate with a  
commercial-grade module.

Trina Solar is neck-and-neck with America's First Solar, the low-cost  
star that has already broken the cost barrier of $1 (61p) per watt  
with thin film based on cadmium telluride.

The Chinese trio of Suntech, Trina and Yingling al...



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