How China Went From Clean Energy Copycat to Global Innovator

Accused for years of copying the technologies of other countries, China now dominates the renewable energy landscape not just in terms of patent filings and research papers, but in what analysts say are major contributions that will help to move the world away from fossil fuels.

In mid-2015, the Chinese government announced a program called “Made in China 2025.” It would provide companies in 10 strategic industries with large, low-interest loans from state-owned investment funds and development banks, assistance in acquiring foreign competitors and generous subsidies for scientific research. At the time, the stated goal was that Chinese companies would control 80 percent of the domestic markets of those industries by 2025.

That effort has largely succeeded, Dr. Wong Leung and other analysts said.

Chinese clean tech companies have come to dominate both domestic and international markets. While Western countries like the United States and Australia pioneered now-widespread technologies like solar panels, batteries and supercapacitors (which are like batteries, only smaller, and provide quick bursts of energy), China is now building on those designs and creating new, groundbreaking versions.

“The sheer volume of Chinese investment has been so much larger than in the West,” Dr. Wong Leung said. “It meant they could build industries from the ground up, all the way through the supply chain.”

A lot of this seems to be manufacturing focused, which is not a particular surprise. There’s offhand mentions to patents but not how that meaningfully changes the landscape.

In other words, if yesterday a foreign firm comes up with a solar panel design and gives it to China to manufacture , and tomorrow a Chinese firm comes up with a solar panel design and gives it to China to manufacture, what changes?

Let’s be real, the world is innovating and creating to try and make the future better while the US wants to go back and further destroy the planet, and all for the bullshit known as profits.

We shouldn’t be treating Chinese investment in renewable energies as a threat. Frankly if this is truly an existential crisis, we need all hands on deck.

No one else is taking meaningful leadership in developing clean energy solutions like China. They deserve all the praise in the world for this.

It seems they’re being pretty smart.

First, they’re building capacity and diversifying their energy supply, from solar to coal, hydro, wind, nuclear, and everything in between.

Then, as chips become cheaper, they can build AI capacity more quickly. 

Top down state planning that puts accomplishing goals ahead of making profits. When an autocratic government is just running everything things move quickly.

For United States to reach 30% renewables (and ‘renewables’ meaning we source these ingredients inside our borders), we need to get rid of the NIMBY mentality. Renewables will destroy the landscape through mining, pollute the air while performing chemical metal refining, blanket the public lands with seas of solar panels. When Wind Turbines need refurbishment, it will require staging areas for big equipment to Remove and Replace these rotating giants as their ROI peters out.

China has chosen this path, because they have Coal, and Not Oil/Gas to sustain their energy hunger. So, the went with heavy R&D in renewable energy sources, including Hydropower Dams. Much of their internal landscape is destroyed.

America has chosen Petroleum Energy because that is what we have internally available, and is mature enough where it doesn’t destroy the surface. I’m not sure what goes on underneath?

We know what happens when populations over-draw the underground water resources. the ground starts sinking. Underground Water eventually gets Brine salts mixed in, water quality goes down.

I’m in favor of Renewables, but the whining about NIMBY must cease. Accept the needed Forbearance tolerating more air pollution and less water quality.

There isn’t enough money to please everyone.

Im excited to see the outcome of China’s renewable drive. This is a positive step, just as the US managed to level off carbon based power in the early 2010s ans began reducing total output, China’s on the same track.

Don’t forget that they’re also the #1 CO2 emission creator with around 13.2 of the 36.8 billion tons of CO2 released in 2023, which the US taking second around 4.8 billion tons. China still gets most of its power from coal, this is encouraging but there’s a long way to go.