Studio Guests:

Dr. Ping He, President, International Fund China's Environment

Dr. Yabei Zhang, Energy Economist, Infrastructure Unit East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank

Jianxin (Jason) Wang, General Manager, Gaoping Ronggao PV Solar Development Company and Deputy Director, Enterprise Energy Management Committee, China’s Energy Research Society (Featured by Dr. He)

Dr. Hongwei Tan, Vice Executive Director, Research Center Green Building & New Energy, Tongji University, Shanghai, China and "Team China", United States Department of Energy Solar Decathlon (Featured by Drs. He and Zhang).

       

Dr. Ping He, President, International Fund China's              Energy Economist, Infrastructure Unit East Asia and

Dr. Yabei Zhang, Environment                                              Pacific Region, World Bank

     

Jianxin (Jason) Wang, General Manager, Gaoping            Dr. Hongwei Tan, Vice Executive Director, Research Center

Ronggao PV Solar Development Company and Deputy     Green Building & New Energy, Tongji University, Shanghai,

Director, Enterprise Energy Management Committee,        China and "Team China", United States Department of Energy

China’s Energy Research Society (Featured by Dr. He)      Solar Decathlon (Featured by Drs. He and Zhang).

Program Summary: 

This program is another in the series about how the accelerated pace of China's local, regional, and national governments, including the expanding private sector, are addressing the issues of severe climate change through aggressive investments in energy conservation and efficiency technologies.  As highlighted by Jianxin (Jason) Wang, General Manager, Gaoping Ronggao PV Solar Development Co. Ltd. of Xinjiang, China the  ESCO Committee of China's Energy Conservation Association reports "the nation has placed increased emphasis on reducing green house gas emissions through energy conservation and efficiency as important components of reducing global climate change while enhancing its own national security."

There have been dramatic investments in energy conservation and efficiency measures while replacing fossil based power sources with renewable energy. The World Bank and the United Nations Development Program are reporting such measures are some of the most economical solutions to chronic energy outages, power shortages, and more environmentally sensitive alternatives to increased energy production for China's expanding economy as those of India, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, among others. 

The International Fund for China’s Environment (IFCE) is an international environmental organization based in Washington, D.C. USA, with branch offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan China. Founded in 1996 by a group of scientists and professionals concerned with China’s environmental problems, IFCE aims to ensure a healthy global environment and continued economic development by helping China solve its environmental problems.

Since its founding, IFCE has developed a range of influential programs facilitating partnerships and building capacity in China’s environmental movement. Specifically, we work with companies and other NGO’s to improve China’s access to green information technology, with policy makers to influence China’s environmental policy, and with grassroots environmental organizations and environmental education programs to improve Chinese peoples’ agency in the environmental movement.

In 2002, IFCE was named one of several significant global environmental organizations by the United Nations. IFCE has been able to play a significant role in protecting the environment because of its numerous experts in the natural and social sciences. Its staff not only have a profound understanding of Chinese culture, but also have many professional connections within China.

 

IFCE's objectives include, but are not limited to:

1. Promote the development, use, and popularity of new environmental technologies in China.

2. Facilitate bilateral and multilateral cooperation among NGOs, governments, and corporations in solving environmental

    problems.

3. Influence government actions on environmental restoration and resource conservation programs.

4. Develop a program for public environmental education.

5. Contribute to an increasing global awareness of the interrelations between environmental problems and human 

    well-being.

The World Bank's China Energy Practice has invested US$8.2 billion in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), Global Environment Facility (GEF), and Carbon Financing funds over nearly thirty years of partnership with China.  Its total green portfolio of renewables and energy efficiency comprises 35% of this total.  Over the last decade 90% of the Bank's investments in energy in China have been to support the development of its renewable energy and accelerate energy efficiency investments. 

 

The Bank’s Energy Efficiency (EE) lending in China represents 90% of total energy efficiency lending in the East Asia and Pacific Region. In particular, the World Bank has successfully introduced market-based financing mechanisms to China in three phases: (1) piloted three energy service companies (ESCOs) as a market-based mechanism of delivery model a decade ago, (2) provided guarantees and capacity building to ESCOs, and (3) mainstreamed EE lending in the banking sector.

Dr. Yabei Zhang is an energy economist of the Infrastructure Unit, the East Asia and Pacific Region, the World Bank. She joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2008 and has worked on energy, urban, and climate change issues.  Dr. Zhang has a particular focus on energy efficiency.  Prior to joining the Bank Dr. Yabei worked at the Joint Global Change Research Institute (a joint program of Pacific Northwest National Lab and the University of Maryland) and focused on climate change modeling. She holds a PhD in Economics from University of Maryland, College Park and a Master in Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Jianxin (Jason) Wang is an energy policy expert specializing in industrial energy efficiency and renewable energy in China.  "Jason" is now a Deputy Director of the Enterprise Energy Management Committee of China’s Energy Research Society.  He is also currently an independent director of NF Energy Saving Corporation listed on NASDAQ since Sept. 2010 and General Manager, Gaoping Ronggao PV Solar Development Company, Xinjiang, China.  In the past 15 years, he has visited many energy service companies (ESCOs) in China and helped these with technical support and project financing advice.  

The China Energy Research Society (CERS) is a non profit and non-governmental organisation and was established in 1981. It is one of the actually 165 subsidiary organisations of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). But unlike other similar organisations CERS is not directly affiliated with any ministry of the central government bureaucracy. CERS therefore prides itself in its ability to remain objective and politically neutral in its policy recommendations.

CERS primarily conducts background research for governmental energy policy. To its further goal of promoting sustainable energy development and improving overall energy efficiency, CERS also organizes international seminars. CERS invites foreign governments and companies to China and sends delegations of Chinese experts abroad to exchange technical and academic information. Most of its 22.000 members are government officials or technical experts who are busy in the field of energy development for government policymakers. Although CERS has several different divisions, it is primarily devoted to promoting sustainable energy development for China.

Dr. Hongwei Tan is the Vice Executive Director of the Research Center Green Building & New Energy of Tongji University.  Dr. Tan created "Team China" to compete in the United States Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.  His entry will be featured by Dr. He of the IFCE.  The Solar Decathlon challenges university teams from around the world to create efficient, useful, attractive, zero-energy, solar powered homes.  As one of the 20 teams in the competition "Team China" created a full fuctioning model home constructed on the Washington, D.C. National Mall in the Fall of 2011.  A model of the home was also on display at NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab) in Golden, Colorado USA in April of 2010.

 

As reported by Laura Caseley of the United States Department of Energy and Keya Lea Horiuchi, Editor and Photographer for the Green Passive Soar Magazine besides providing a solution to environmental problems, China’s Solar Decathlon team from Tongji University tackled economic ones with their entry, "Y-Container". Y-Container’s concept stemmed from the fact that many young people, even those working professionally, cannot afford their own homes in China due to disparities between incomes and housing costs. Y-Container was designed for a young couple living in Shanghai where the problem of housing availability is prevalent.

The house is constructed from recycled shipping containers arranged together at 120-degree angles to form an equilateral "Y" shape. The fact that the main components of the house are prefabricated cuts costs significantly, and helps to reduce waste by reusing material. The containers are also designed to stand up to the elements, being originally intended to weather journeys at sea, with materials like waterproof polymers and zinc-coated steel. Its modular form allows it to be dismantled, transported to a new location and reassembled, and even expanded should the residents wish to do so. Combined with its clean power system that supplies heat, light and water, Y-Container allows occupants to live cleanly and freely wherever they choose.

Y-Container is designed to be adapted to various circumstances.  Its systems uses heat recovery from the solar thermal collectors that provides heat for the floor heating system and for hot water.  Vacuum insulation and phase-change materials stop heat from transferring and dissipating managing temperatures in a passive manner.  The house features a natural ventilation tunnel at its center, where fresh air is let in without energy use.  The Y-Container also comes with a rainwater collecting unit inside, the living space is expandable and open and the three "wings" provide different sections of the yard that can be landscaped in various ways to integrate nature into the lives of its residents.  The model home is shipped back to China to be part of the Green Energy Exhibition Area on the Tongji campus.  Team China will continue research on the Y-Container to maximize its lifespan, commercial potential, and energy efficiency.