Growing pollution problems and recent soaring oil prices have sparked calls for the country to adjust its energy policy to support the development of renewable energy sources.

"One of the biggest challenges facing the nation's development is the growing demand for energy - especially clean, cheap and efficient energy," said Wang Xiaofeng, a researcher at the Institute of Geomechanics under the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.

According to Wang, new technology to raise the efficiency of power generators and internal combustion engines and increased use of hydrogen fuels and biogas in rural areas are urgently needed to deal with the problem.

To that end, Zhou Xianwang, along with 30 other deputies to the 10th National People's Congress, called for the establishment of a special fund to support the construction of biogas pits in western rural areas.

Chen Zhouqi and Zhang Qia, both vice-chairmen of the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, urged the development of various types of renewable energy sources including hydro, solar, wind and geothermal power, while attending the just-closed CPPCC annual session early this month.

According to their predictions, China will become the world's leading energy consumer by 2050, devouring 3.8 billion tons of standard coal - three times the amount for 2000.

However, with over 60 percent of the country's landmass experiencing more than 2,000 hours of sunlight per year, solar power - the cleanest and most plentiful of all renewable energy sources - has tremendous potential, explained experts.

Many areas in China, especially western regions, such as Shaanxi Province and the Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions, are rich in solar energy resources.

Over the past 20 years, China has become the largest producer and user of solar energy heaters, with the installation of more than 30-million-square-metres of solar panels, said Luo Zhentao, deputy director of the Chinese Society for Energy Sources of the Countryside.

"The solar energy heater industry has been developing at a surprising rate of 25 percent to 30 percent annually," he added.

However, the solar energy industry is still facing major obstacles due to poor environmental awareness among the public and inadequate support on the part of the government, said Feng Jianhua, president of Shandong-based Ecoosolar Solar Energy Co Ltd.

(China Daily March 26, 2003)