CHINA
In 2014, the Chinese Government released the Strategic Action Plan for Energy Development (2014-2020), providing details on a set of measures that will enable China to meet its 2020 target, that is, to build a clean, efficient, safe and sustainable energy supply system. As a promising Renewable Energy (RE), the development of Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) was emphasized to contribute to the optimization of energy structure.
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of the People’s Republic of China began to develop the RE technology development strategy (to 2020), considering three key missions for MRE. The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) released the Outline of Marine Renewable Energy Development (2013 2016), in December 2013, focusing on the design and building of two demonstration bases in rich MRE resources areas and national test sites for MRE by 2016. The new round of Special Funding Programme for MRE (SFPMRE) sponsored by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and SOA initiated. Additionally, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released the Notice on Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for offshore wind power in June 2014 to support the development of Chinese offshore wind power.
OCEAN ENERGY POLICY
NATIONAL STRATEGY AND TARGETS
The Strategic Action Plan for Energy Development (2014-2020) was released by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on 7 June 2014. The optimization of the energy structure was put forward as one of the five missions, depending on the reduction of coal consumption and the increase of natural gas, safety development of nuclear energy and advancing the development of RE. By 2020, China aims to control the total primary energy consumption at 4.8 billion tons of standard coal and the total coal consumption at 4.2 billion tons of standard coal.
The proportion of non-fossil energy consumption in primary energy consumption would be raised to 15%. China will basically form a clean, efficient, safe and sustainable energy supply system. SOA released the Outline of Marine Renewable Energy Development (2013-2016) in December 2013, with key missions such as breakthrough key MRE technologies, improve devices technology readiness levels, build demonstration projects, construct public service for MRE industrialization and enhance the MRE resources zoning in China. In the future 3 years, two demonstration bases will be built in rich MRE resources areas for fostering industrialization.
MOST is developing a RE technology development strategy (to 2020), considering three key missions for MRE, that is, design and manufacture of MWs tidal current energy turbine, modular design and manufacture of 100 kWs wave energy devices, and research and demonstration of environment-friendly technology for tidal range energy, respectively.
LEGISLATION AND REGULATORY ISSUES
There are no additional changes in the current Chinese legislation regarding ocean energy, which is defined as the “Renewable Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China (Amendment)” implemented in April 2010.
MARKET INCENTIVES
The notice on FiT for offshore wind power was released by NDRC in June 2014, according to which the FiT for non-binding offshore wind power projects is RMB 0.75-0.85 before 2017, and for licensed offshore wind power projects cannot be higher than the above mentioned prices.
PUBLIC FUNDING PROGRAMMES
In 2014, the SFPMRE by MOF and SOA entered in the sixth year. The total amount of financial support reached around RMB 800 million. More than 90 MRE projects were supported.
SEA TEST SITES
On 6 Nov 2014, NOTC and Weihai municipal government, Shandong Province, signed an agreement on the construction of a national small scale test site. With the support of SOA and Weihai City, a 5 km2 sea area was authorized for 40 years free use of the test site. The design work was accomplished and the construction work will be initiated.
Additionally, two full scale MRE test sites have been planned, one will be located in Dawanshan, in Guangdong Province, for wave energy, the other will be on Zhoushan Islands, in Zhejiang Province, for tidal current energy.
