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The US and China- Clean Tech Business Opportunities

Together, the US and China have the potential to attract a cumulative $962 billion in private clean energy investments over the next 10 years. China’s leaders realize the limitations of conventional fossil fuel as new sources of energy for their rapidly-growing economy. Recent policy developments have shown that China intends to seriously pursue new, low-carbon sources of energy in order to meet this growing demand and mitigate impacts on the environment. This represents an opportunity for US businesses exporting to and manufacturing clean technologies in China, as well as for Chinese firms investing in the US. Also, joint endeavors between Chinese and US companies can result in more rapid development of more affordable cleantech products and services, benefiting the economies and environments of both nations. What circumstances are most likely to create U.S. economic benefits, what are US firms doing to take advantage of these markets, what obstacles do they face, and what are the potential payoffs? Opportunities abound, but a key factor in the US ability to take advantage of clean tech opportunities is supportive policy.

4 Topics On Clean Energy And Climate Change Obama And Xi Should Consider

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com.

When President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping meet in California this week, they will be seeking to build trust and chart a course for improved relations. While tensions abound over various issues, clean energy and climate is one area where cooperation can work.

China Invests Billions in International Renewable Energy Projects

This post originally appeared on WRI Insights.

It’s well-known that China ranks first in the world in attracting clean energy investment, receiving US$ 65.1 billion in 2012. But new analysis from WRI shows another side to this story: China is increasingly becoming a global force in international clean energy investment, too.

U.S. and China Announce Joint Climate Change Working Group for Strategic and Economic Dialogue

The U.S. and China pledged to boost cooperation on climate change in a Joint U.S.-China Declaration on Climate Change signed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Saturday April 13 in Beijing.

The Path to Cleaner Air: Can China learn from California?

In a visit to China this week, Jerry Brown, the Governor of California, is putting a special emphasis on the promotion of business deals between China and California as part of the solution to China’s pollution problems.

Embracing Ecological Progress In China

This post originally appeared on ChinaDaily.com.

Over the past two decades, the world has witnessed a remarkable period of economic and human development: More than 2 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water; life expectancy has increased by approximately five years; more children are going to s

Building Our Clean Energy Industries: Learning from China’s experience in wind power

As the biggest coal-consuming and coal-producing nation in the world, China is perhaps an unlikely place to find a burgeoning wind power industry. Yet today China is the biggest wind power market in the world and builds almost all its wind turbines at home. China’s wind power capacity has increased over a hundredfold in the past decade (from 344 MW in 2000 to 44,733 MW in 2010) and estimates for 2012 put installed wind capacity at about 80 GW (see Figure 1). Just a decade ago the country had only a handful of wind turbines in operation—all imported from Europe and the United States.

Trade Cases on Imports of Clean Energy Products from China

The US department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission have commenced proceedings in trade cases regarding imports of solar cells and other clean energy products from China. The matter is now progressing through the official process for handling such international trade cases. ChinaFAQs has assembled a collection of resources and statements from official sources, media, and concerned groups regarding the cases, and will continue to monitor developments as they unfold.

China, U.S. and APEC Leaders Agree to Cap Tariffs on Green Goods

After meeting in Russia in early September, representatives of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) nations, including China and the U.S., reached an agreement on a list of environmental goods on which to cut tariffs to 5 percent or less by 2015.

ChinaFAQs: Road Testing American Carbon-Saving Technology in China
application/pdf iconChina FAQs_Road_Testing_Tech_v1_6.pdf

Key Points

  • U.S. environmental engineering company LP Amina developed a new technology that improves efficiency and reduces pollution at coal-fired power plants, and is collaborating with Chinese utilities to demonstrate it.
  • LP Amina leveraged its participation in U.S.-China public-private partnerships to find partners for demonstrating the technology and potential buyers.
  • The component is being manufactured in Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia for buyers in the U.S., China and around the globe.
  • The new design saves coal and cuts emissions of CO2 and other pollutants from power plants– promising significant environmental benefits.
CEF Event: Cooperation or Conflict? Contradictions in U.S.-China Clean Energy Relations

ChinaFAQs expert Joanna Lewis, professor at Georgetown University, joined Craig Allen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the Department of Commerce, and Jigar Shah, President of the Coalition for Affordable Energy, for a discussion of U.S.-China clean energy relations at the Woodrow Wilson Center in May as part of the China Environment Forum (CEF).

The Strategic and Economic Dialogue and Energy and Climate

The State of Play of Chinese Policy and Bilateral Issues

The Obama administration’s fourth major meeting with China, involving multiple Cabinet Secretaries and Chinese Ministers, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), will be held May 3 and 4 in Beijing. As usual, the U.S. delegation will be lead by Secretaries Clinton and Geithner, and their Chinese hosts will be Vice Premier Wang Qishan (who focuses on economic policy) and State Councilor Dai Bingguo (responsible for foreign policy).

Clean Tech’s Rise- Two New Issue Briefs from ChinaFAQs

As leaders prepare to meet for the fourth annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing this week, ChinaFAQs just released two new issue briefs that explore areas of collaboration between the two nations.

The papers highlight that both the prospect of a $2.2 trillion global market in clean energy by 2020 and expected Chinese investment of $300 billion over the next five years, to meet its ramped-up renewable energy targets in its 12th Five-Year Plan, present a huge opportunity for the U.S. Reaping these benefits will be challenging, but can be fostered by supportive U.S. policies, coupled with collaboration from private industry.

Issue Brief- Clean Tech's Rise, Part I: Will the U.S. and China Reap the Mutual Benefits?
application/pdf iconChinaFAQs_IssueBrief1_MutualBenefits.pdf

This ChinaFAQs Issue Brief highlights opportunities in the global clean energy revolution, discusses the comparative strengths of each nation, and provides examples of proposals and policies that the U.S. can employ to seize these opportunities by encouraging clean energy development. The brief stresses that the U.S. should capitalize on its strengths and take a strategic approach to innovation and commercialization. (Click to download)

Ask the ChinaFAQs Experts: “With New Chinese Leadership, What Are the Prospects on Climate & Energy Policy?"

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, expected to become president next year, is visiting Washington the week of February 13th. This has drawn attention to the future of the U.S.-China relationship. The visit presents an attractive platform to discuss climate and energy issues, which have often represented areas of cooperation between the two countries. We asked our panel of ChinaFAQs experts to provide their insights on top issues for new leadership to address on climate and energy, as well as prospects for the U.S.-China relationship on climate and energy under a Xi presidency.

Testimony by Mikkal Herberg Before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, January 26, 2012
application/pdf iconHerberg_USCC testimony_26 2012.pdf

I first would like to thank the members of the Commission for the opportunity to testify to this important group. It is an honor and a privilege.

I have been asked to speak about China’s approach to securing its energy supplies and implications for the United States. I will discuss China’s approach, whether it is impacting global energy markets and the competitive prospects of American energy companies, how Beijing’s energy security drive is influencing maritime territorial and sea lane disputes in the seas around Asia, and some suggestions on U.S. policy towards the developments.

Testimony by Sarah Forbes Before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, January 26, 2012
application/pdf iconforbes_testimony_china_shale_gas_2012-01-26.pdf

“China’s Prospects for Shale Gas and Implications for the U.S.”

Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the deliberations of this Commission. My name is Sarah Forbes, and I am a Senior Associate for the Climate and Energy Program at the World Resources Institute. I am also manager of the World Resources Institute’s Shale Gas Initiative. The World Resources Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan environmental think tank that goes beyond research to provide practical solutions to the world’s most urgent environmental and development challenges. We work in partnership with scientists, businesses, governments, and non-governmental organizations in more than seventy countries to provide information, tools, and analysis to provide for human well-being.

ChinaFAQs: U.S.-China Renewable Energy Partnership
application/pdf iconChinaFAQs_US_China_Renewable_Energy_Partnership.pdf

Key Points:

  • The US-China Renewable Energy Partnership (USCREP) is matching US cleantech firms with opportunities in Chinese markets.
  • The USCREP undertakes tasks in the key areas of improving wind and solar technologies, integrating renewable power with existing electric power grids, developing international standards and testing protocols for new energy technologies, and collaborating on policies to spur advancement of renewable energy technologies.
  • American companies, such as Boston-based Second Wind, are already benefiting from USCREP-fostered cooperation in terms of potential job creation and expanding exports.
Global Growth – the Story at China Wind Power 2011

China once again hosted its largest wind power expo, China Wind 2011, surpassing last year’s exhibition with the number of companies and the exhibition floor space increasing by 50%. Not surprisingly for an event in Beijing, the China market continued to be a major focus, but this year there was much more sense of a global market with increasing interest in new emerging markets, in particular Latin America.

China’s Competitive Advantage in the Solar Industry: How Advantageous is it Really?

In the wake of the Solyndra bankruptcy and amidst reports of an impending trade dispute against China’s solar subsidies, many are asking how US solar manufacturers can possibly compete with Chinese manufacturers. Sure, Chinese solar companies now dominate global solar photovoltaic (PV) markets (see figure below), but that does not mean the US is not still playing an important role in the solar industry. If we just look at how many solar panels are being manufactured here, we miss the more important metric—the total value created by the solar industry in the United States. A significant portion of the revenue from solar projects comes not from manufacturing the panels themselves, but site preparation and system installation, which must be done locally with local jobs.

US and Chinese Companies Sign Technology Agreements At Series of Energy Meetings in Beijing

Beijing hosted a series of international meetings over the last week and a half, primarily connected to cleaner coal technologies, but also involving the partners in the US-China Clean Energy Research Centers (CERC), which include clean coal, energy efficient buildings and advanced vehicles. The primary draw to Beijing was a ministerial meeting of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF), a US-initiated group to advance carbon dioxide capture, use and storage (CCUS), which China hosted for the first time.

Worldwatch Report: Green Economy and Green Jobs in China

Aurthors Dr. Jihua Pan, Haibing Ma, and Dr. Ying Zhang discuss the potential for China’s green development strategy to generate jobs in energy, transportation, and forestry in a report published by the Worldwatch Institute.

“Over the past decade, and especially during the 11th Five-Year period of 2006–10, China has prioritized green development in almost all of its leading economic sectors.
China Agrees to End Wind Power Subsidies in WTO Consultations

In what appears to be a mutually-satisfactory outcome to a 9-month trade dispute resolution process initiated by the United Steelworkers (USW), China has agreed to end its “Special Fund for Wind Power Equipment Manufacturing” subsidy program that provided grants to domestic wind power producers favoring Chinese-made components over imports. In September 2010, the USW petitioned the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate several Chinese programs it said were against WTO rules. After reviewing the petition, in December the USTR requested formal dispute settlement consultations with the WTO concerning this wind subsidy program.

China Increasingly Attractive for Renewable Energy Investment

China has remained the most attractive destination for clean energy investment for a full year, followed by the U.S., according to the most recent Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices compiled by consulting firm Ernst & Young. The report showed China increasing its rating from 71 to 72 on a 100-point scale last quarter, followed by the U.S. unchanged at 67. As Bloomberg reports, the report attributed China’s gain to its increased focus on offshore wind and concentrated solar power, in addition to new renewable energy targets in its 12th Five Year Plan.

Energy Trade and Investment Could Benefit from the Strategic and Economic Dialogue

The latest meeting of the US –China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) was held May 9 and 10 in Washington, DC and the two outcomes papers are out: The Strategic Track, which is essentially political, but also covers climate and energy, and the Economic Track, which is led by Treasury, but covers a number of trade and investment issues of interest to the energy industry.

Bill Gates Joins Top U.S. CEOs Calling For China Collaboration, Clear Domestic Energy Policy

Bill Gates, the world-famous billionaire founder of Microsoft who has more recently become a supporter of clean energy, has added his voice to the growing chorus of top American CEOs calling for the U.S. to maintain its lead in innovation.

China and Germany race ahead of the U.S. in clean energy investments: Alarm bell is ringing

China invested $54.4 billion on clean energy in 2010, $20 billion more than the U.S., according to the latest report from Pew Charitable Trusts and Bloomberg New Energy Finance released today. This is one-fifth of a global market that is growing at a record 30% pace. The competitive position of the U.S. has “deteriorated” so much that it slipped down to number three in private investment, as small-scale solar installations launched Germany into the number two spot. Pew and Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s take-away: policies matter as China and Germany had strong ones and US policies stagnated.

Read the full post at Jake Schmidt’s NRDC Switchboard blog.

Senate Energy Committee Questions Department of Energy Secretary Chu on U.S. Energy Spending and Clean Energy Competitiveness With China

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on Wednesday, February 16th, to receive testimony from Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu on the Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request. In the Chairman’s opening statement, Senator Bingaman (D-NM) said: “…we actually spend less than China on energy R&D per unit of GDP. China is investing heavily in manufacturing and deploying wind, solar, and nuclear power plants. These investments are already translating into global sales and domestic Chinese jobs in an area where the United States once led the world.”

Clean Energy Forum Seeks Further Benefits From U.S.-China Cooperation

While champagne glasses were clinking at the White House state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao, senior officials, academic experts and industry leaders from China and the United States were discussing clean energy cooperation at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel near the Jefferson Memorial. In two days of sessions at the U.S.-China Strategic Forum on Clean Energy Cooperation hosted by The Brookings Institution and the China Institute for Innovation & Development Strategy, participants reported on progress, announced business deals, and discussed next steps.

ChinaFAQs: The U.S. and China at the Summit: Climate & Energy Developments in China and U.S.-China Collaboration
application/pdf iconChinaFAQs_U.S_China_at_the_Summit.pdf
Questions Addressed:
  1. What are the U.S. and China doing together to make progress on climate and energy issues?
  2. What are the opportunities and challenges for U.S. – China business cooperation on clean technology and public-private partnerships?
  3. What did the U.S. and China agree to in Cancun?
  4. What important steps is China taking on climate and energy?
  5. What steps can we expect China to take in the coming year?
  6. Are the United States and China’s Cancun commitments sufficient to avert catastrophic climate change?
ChinaFAQs: Competitiveness and Climate
application/pdf iconChinaFAQs_Competitiveness_and_Climate.pdf

Key Points

  • Without coordinated action among countries there is great potential to ‘game the system’ and to not fully cover ‘carbon leakage’ to key export markets.
  • There is little evidence unilateral trade measures alone will prompt comparable action in China, effectively safeguard U.S. manufacturers from job loss, or significantly prevent “carbon leakage.”
  • However, there are several short- and long-term policy options for “leveling the playing field” and safeguarding the competitiveness of carbon-intensive manufacturers in the U.S. – while at the same time creating incentives for emissions reductions at home and abroad.
Edward Cunningham

Edward Cunningham is an Assistant Professor at Boston University’s Geography and Environment & Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. His research focuses on the political economy of development and, more specifically, comparative energy governance. He employs surveys and qualitative case studies to examine the relationship between political structure and industrial structure, and the strategies states and firms adopt to manage risk in economic development. His current work assesses the impact of governance decentralization on the environmental sustainability and productivity of energy markets, particularly in China and Indonesia.

eac4@bu.edu

617-358-0208

Jerry Fletcher

Dr. Jerald J. Fletcher is Professor of agricultural economics and Director of the US-China Energy Center at West Virginia University and Director of the US Advanced Coal Technology Consortium of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). Professor Fletcher’s research interests include natural resource and environmental economics; quantitative methods; production economics, GIS and other computer applications in applied economic analysis. He is the founder and director of the Natural Resource Analysis Center in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design at West Virginia University. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and been a member of the board of directors and chair of the Council of Professional Association on Federal Statistics.

Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences
West Virginia University
Jerry.Fletcher@mail.wvu.edu

Robert Kapp

For ten years, Robert Kapp was president of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), the preeminent organization of American companies involved in U.S.-China investment and trade. As leader of the USCBC, he engaged extensively with U.S. and Chinese government leaders and key agencies on a wide range of policy issues, including questions of strong interest on Capitol Hill.

Robert A. Kapp and Associates
bobkapp@rakapp.com

Michael Levi

Michael A. Levi is the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment and director of the program on energy security and climate change at the Council on Foreign Relations. He directed CFR’s Independent Task Force on climate change in 2007–2008. His most recent book, The Power Surge, was published in 2013 by Oxford University Press. His previous book, On Nuclear Terrorism, was published by Harvard University Press in 2007. He received his PhD in war studies from the University of London (King’s College) and his MA in physics from Princeton University.

Phone: +1.212.434.9495
E-mail: mlevi@cfr.org

Huei Peng

Dr. Huei Peng is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan and Director of the US Clean Vehicle Consortium of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center. His research interests include adaptive control and optimal control, with emphasis on their applications to vehicular and transportation systems. His current research focuses include design and control of hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle active safety systems.

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan
G036 Lay Automotive Laboratory
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2133 USA
(734) 936-0352
E-mail: hpeng@umich.edu

Luke Schoen

Luke Schoen is a Blakemore Freeman Fellow pursuing advanced Chinese language study at the Tsinghua-Berkeley Inter-University Program. Previously, Luke was an Associate in WRI’s Climate and Energy Program and the manager of the ChinaFAQs project, where he worked to facilitate a network of internationally renowned experts in answering critical questions about Chinese policy and action on energy and climate change, and about the implications for the United States.

Luke received a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 2010. His Master’s thesis compared the status of smart grid development and deployment in the U.S. and China and opportunities for international collaboration. As a Research Fellow with the U.S. EPA in 2009, he worked on regional air quality management issues in the U.S. and China. Previously, Luke studied Mandarin at Beijing Normal University, was an intern at the Beijing Bureau of CNN, and spent three years in Japan with the JET Programme. He holds an AB in Anthropology and Asian Studies from Dartmouth College.

luke.schoen@gmail.com

Edward Steinfeld

Edward Steinfeld is an professor of political economy in the MIT Department of Political Science. Steinfeld directs the MIT China Program (MISTI), and co-directs the MIT Industrial Performance Center’s China Energy Group.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Political Science
edstein@mit.edu
(617) 253-4130

Julian Wong

In the News:

ecopreneur@gmail.com

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