Aug 12 2009

PG&E Teams With NRDC to Promote Energy Efficiency in China

Posted by: Jennifer Zerwer

Mona Yew, principal in PG&E's Emerging Clean Technologies department, just returned from Beijing, China, where she spent three months working with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to promote energy efficiency. NEXT100 asked Ms. Yew to offer her perspective on energy efficiency in China. Here are her answers:

What do you do at PG&E?
I work in PG&E's Emerging Clean Technologies group, which is part of the Renewable Energy department within our energy procurement organization. Our goal is to expand energy generation from renewable and clean energy resources in California. We investigate emerging renewable and clean technologies and find ways to help support and advance these technologies. I focus primarily on biomass technology and carbon sequestration.

What's your background in energy efficiency?
Prior to working with renewable technology, I've held various positions at PG&E related to energy efficiency program development and implementation.

What were you doing in China?
The NRDC has a long history of promoting energy efficiency in China, and PG&E has been a long-time supporter of this effort as a member of the China-US Energy Efficiency Alliance. I took on a three-month secondment at the NRDC's Beijing, China, office to provide training on demand-side management (DSM) and energy efficiency program administration and implementation. I helped NRDC develop a training program and provided training to members of NRDC's DSM Technical Center and their government partners. I also helped with designing implementation plans for regional pilot projects called "Efficiency Power Plants" that NRDC is working on with their provincial government partners. 

What's an Efficiency Power Plant?
An Efficiency Power Plant or EPP is a "virtual" power plant that delivers "negawatts" through a portfolio of demand side management or energy efficiency projects. It is the term that is used in China to describe the energy efficiency pilot projects in the provinces.

What do you think most Americans would find surprising about China's efforts? 
Most people in the U.S. don't realize that China has fairly aggressive energy reduction targets. They are seeking to reduce energy intensity (energy consumption per unit of GDP) by 20 percent from 2006-2011. They are also working to reduce discharge of major pollutants by 10 percent within the same timeframe. I think there is a perception in the U.S. that China has unchecked energy growth. There is no doubt that China's demand is growing and will continue to grow significantly, but they are also looking for ways to meet new growth through demand side management.

Do you think the energy reduction goals set by the Chinese government are realistic?
From what I've seen, most provinces are reporting that they are on track to meet the target. However, it's not an easy task. China has a GDP growth target of 8 percent for 2009. Many industries are struggling with finding the money needed to implement projects while still meeting the growth target in today's economy.

Any noteworthy differences between China and the U.S.?
The biggest difference I noted is in energy consumption behavior. Chinese households are very frugal, cost conscious and do a lot to conserve. For example, compact fluorescent light bulbs are widely used and many homes have washers but not dryers. Household appliances are smaller and require less energy. Homes are also smaller in comparison to the U.S., so the energy use is also lower. Of course, China is a developing country with a large population. So when you add everything up, it's still a very large number. And they are catching up - so one thing some people are concerned about is how to retain that sense of energy frugality as China catches up with developed countries.

One thing California has in contrast to China is dedicated funding for energy efficiency programs. The Chinese provinces that are implementing the Efficiency Power Plant pilots have had to come up with creative ways to fund the projects, such as by tapping into urban construction fees or seeking ESCO (energy service company) financing.

California also has over 30 years of experience in implementing energy efficiency programs. Even though there is a desire - a mandate - to reduce energy use in China, they don't yet have the infrastructure or the portfolio approach like we have here that provide a suite of comprehensive energy efficiency programs that range from audits and rebates to design assistance, education and training to help end use customers save energy.

This takes us back to my mission in China - by sharing best practices on how we implement energy efficiency programs in the U.S. and working with China to adapt the U.S. experience to Chinese conditions and design and implement suitable DSM programs, we can help China move closer to meeting their energy reduction target and help curb global greenhouse gas emissions.

© 2008 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms

"PG&E" refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation.