Azure in the media
Te-Ping Chen in Harbin, China For National Geographic News
Harbin, in China's northeast, plays up its "Ice City" reputation with its annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, where ice sculptures were on display January 4. But in its real buildings, officials are making renovations that they predict will increase energy efficiency by 50 percent.
Article written by Rachel Enslow for Wind Offshore
The Chinese offshore win industry is on the brink of taking off. Many of the major wind developers are already staking their claim for projects along the coast, Chinese turbine manufacturers have developed prototype offshore technology and government policy and support is falling into place. At this early stage it seems the market is going to be focused on utilizing domestic capacity rather than relying on expertise from abroad.
Written on 28 December 2009 for Reuters
This article made public our total wind turbine installation, estimated to be 15.5GW at the end of June 2009. This article also quoted our analysis that China continues to be the world's fastest-growing wind energy market this year.
Written by Azure consultant Paul Joy on 16 December 2009 for ChinaDialogue
This opinion piece, written in the midst of the Copenhagen climate negotiations, argued that these negotiations were going to fail because of a Prisoners Dilenma-type situation. Mr. Joy argues that a power vaccum has reduced potential for the climate negotiations to deliver a new binding multinational treaty, both now and one year from now. However, he also says that the way forward was for the United States to increase its credibility on the issue by unilaterally passing comprehensive carbon regulations, and also by stepping up investments in low-carbon technologies. This would give the US negotiation team the credibility to extract concessions from other developing countries down the road.
Written by Emma Graham-Harrison on 26 November 2009 for Reuters
This article was written in the aftermath of China's announcement to cut carbon intensity by 40% from 2005 levels by 2020. But in an analysis of the details stemming from this announcement, Chris Raczkowski pointed out that after targets have been been established, the real difficult work will be to ensure those targets are carried out, especially in China. "I think the question that will immediately follow is the favorite three initials that the United States keeps talking about - M, R, and V - how China is going to measure, report, and verify these cuts." He also said it was highly unlikely that Beijing will allow foreign inspectors check its progress, and the government has said this measure is still voluntary, bringing into question how much affect it will have long-term.
Written for RECharge News
In this article, director of research and advisory Sebastian Meyer commented on the recently eliminated domestic manufacturing requirement for Chinese wind producers. He said that “
In this article, director of research and advisory Sebastian Meyer says that while there are significant problems in the growth of China’s wind energy market, most notably grid connection and in terms of actual electrical production, continuous improvement is improving fast. “There is no one throwing money away on wind farm development in China, but they may not have the best expertise in siting, installing or maintaining turbines and there are big problems in obtaining grid connections.” He also said it very difficult to say whether or not Chinese domestic turbines have lower quality standards than their international counterparts, based on due diligence carried out by the Azure wind team.
In this article, the author discusses a recent Harvard and Tsinghua Study saying that wind power could account for all of China’s projected demand in 2030. It also features Mr. Sebastian Meyer, Azure director of research and advisory, who said that the challenge of obtaining such an ambitious goal is as much administrative and financial as it is technical. He said that a political imperative for rural development guarantees that wind power will continue to develop, but financing incentives need to change. The current surcharge of 0.001-0.002 Chinese yuan per kWh, which Chinese consumers pay to support integration of renewable energy, barely covers the cost of patching wind farms onto the grid.
In this article, the director for research and advisory Sebastian Meyer is highlighted again talking about the need to for China to build a more modern and flexible grid to raise the share of renewable power in its energy mix. He also said that while the United States and Europe are lining up to exploit technology needed to develop a smart grid, China is lagging behind. The lack of a flexible grid is compelling China to continue to build coal power plants in order to cover shortfall periods, given the difficulty in moving power from one part of the country to another.
In this article, director of Azure research and advisory division Sebastian Meyer is quoted from a presentation he gave at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in Beijing. Meyer, speaking on China’s grid connectivity problems, said that a reticence on the part of local utilities to develop and connect renewable energy projects to the grid and a lack of sufficient transmission capacity to bring power to load centers were contributing to the under-utilization of China’s wind resources. He said the incentive structures are for installed capacity, not for delivered kilowatts to consumers. He also said that a solution currently gaining traction is for a central government take-over of China’s wind industry, through its construction of massive wind bases.