China doubles solar power target by 2020

AFP report
China has more than doubled its target for solar power capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2020, state media said, as the world's largest polluter steps up efforts to boost clean energy sources. The increased target follows a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan that triggered a nuclear crisis in the country's northeast and fuelled worldwide debate about the safety of atomic power. China hopes its installed solar power capacity will reach 10 gigawatts by 2015 and 50 gigawatts by the end of the decade, the Shanghai Securities News said, citing Li Junfeng, deputy director of the energy research arm of the National Development and Reform Commission. The country's current installed capacity is less than one gigawatt, the official China Daily said last month. Li said China will soon publish a five-year blueprint and other supportive policies for the solar power industry. (...) It currently relies on carbon-belching coal for 70 percent of its energy needs.