China has given full play to its advantages in renewable energy under the Belt and Road Initiative

There is broad space for China to participate in international cooperation on renewable energy under the Belt and Road Initiative

The executive report of the "Belt and Road" Renewable Energy Development Cooperation Path and its Promotion Mechanism Research "believes that the rapid growth of electricity demand along the" Belt and Road "countries has brought huge investment opportunities for Chinese enterprises. The report pointed out that China's participation in the "Belt and Road" renewable energy international cooperation space is large, broad prospects, and has formed a renewable energy international development cooperation model based on EPC, overseas plant construction, overseas mergers and acquisitions, and overseas research and development. Among them, EPC is the main way for China to contract engineering projects abroad, accounting for 80% of the total number of projects contracted abroad in 2016.

The report puts forward a timetable for the development of renewable energy, suggesting that before 2020, China should mainly participate in renewable energy projects in key regions along the "Belt and Road", expand the publicity and promotion of overseas investment in renewable energy projects, and enhance the international influence of Chinese renewable energy enterprises; After 2020-2025, gradually improve the development of renewable energy integration projects and the application and promotion of smart energy, microgrid and other projects, and strive to improve the market participation and market recognition of Chinese enterprises in the development of renewable energy in the "Belt and Road" region. Chinese enterprises should focus on seizing the strategic development opportunities of the new Asia-Europe Land Bridge, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor and the China-Africa cooperation mechanism, and actively develop biomass and geothermal energy projects with photovoltaic and wind power as the main line.

The report pointed out that China's participation in the "Belt and Road" renewable energy cooperation still faces many problems, the main obstacles include the high cost of project financing, the international recognition of Chinese standards is not high, the lack of renewable energy support in countries along the route and the existence of relevant legal and policy risks. Taking the overseas investment of Chinese wind power enterprises as an example, the equipment of Chinese enterprises has a certain price advantage compared with the United States General Electric Company, but the latter's financing interest rate in overseas projects is about 3%, while Chinese enterprises are generally as high as 6% to 7%, and the advantage of Chinese enterprises' low equipment cost is offset by the disadvantage of high financing cost. In addition, the vicious competition between Chinese enterprises, in various forms of international consortium project bidding, the behavior of lowering the price of each other has damaged the interests of the Chinese side, and troubled China's participation in the development of international renewable energy projects under the "Belt and Road".

In order to further promote the participation of Chinese enterprises in the international cooperation on renewable energy under the Belt and Road Initiative, the report puts forward policy recommendations such as planning first, strengthening international exchanges, promoting cross-border joint research and joint consultation, and innovating cooperation models and financing models.

Asean has the potential to develop renewable energy on a large scale

Asean countries are not only one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world, but also one of the most energy-hungry regions. According to the executive report of the ASEAN Renewable Energy Development Plan and Key Case Studies, energy demand in the ten ASEAN countries has increased by 73% in the past 17 years, and will continue to grow at an average annual rate of more than 2% in the next 25 years, higher than the global average of 1%. At present, fossil energy is still the most important energy in ASEAN countries, fossil energy consumption accounts for about 74%, while renewable energy consumption accounts for only 6%. Since 2000, the share of coal in the energy consumption structure has been expanding, while the share of renewable energy consumption has remained basically unchanged.

According to the report, ASEAN has the potential to develop renewable energy on a large scale. Taking Indonesia as an example, the country has the most abundant renewable energy resources, hydropower, geothermal and biomass energy resources rank first in ASEAN, and geothermal resources account for 40% of the total global geothermal resources. Wind resources are mainly concentrated in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and some coastal areas, of which Vietnam has the most abundant resources. Asean countries are also rich in solar energy resources. From the perspective of economic potential, ASEAN countries have ushered in a good time to develop renewable energy. For example, global wind and solar costs have fallen by 65% and 85% respectively over the past 15 years, and the global average cost of electricity per hour (LCOE) for onshore wind and PV has fallen to $0.06 / KWH and $0.10 / KWH respectively. Compared with the LCOE range of global fossil energy in 2017 (US $0.05 ~ 0.17 / KWH), the development of renewable energy has a certain economic advantage. Currently, the cost of wind power has fallen to a level comparable to the cost of coal power in ASEAN, and there is room for further cost reduction in the future.