替代能源能否改善中国的空气质量?

China's energy production relies heavily on coal-fired power stations. As the world's highest emitter of greenhouse gasses, China consumed more than 400 million tones of coal last year.

As many parts of China have been shrouded in a gray haze over the past few months, the issue of air quality has been frequently raised. A recent study shows that coal-burning and motor vehicle emissions make up 60 to 70 percent of the PM2.5 particles. Therefore, looking for new alternate energy sources to replace fossil energy is becoming urgent for both the Chinese government and its population.

Actually, China's renewable energy capacity installation growth has been impressive, and an increasing amount of government attention and investment has been put into this sector. Take solar thermal as an example. It works by using energy that comes solely from the sun, and is transformed into heat energy that generates electricity.

Wang Zhifeng, chairman of State Solar Thermal Energy Alliance, says this new technology is totally environmentally friendly, and has unique advantages over photovoltaic systems.

"During bad weather or at night, the heat storage system allows electricity output to continue even if the sun isn't shining. Also, this new technology source doesn't need expensive solar panels, so the cost is comparatively low."

However, Wang says the development of alternative energy especially the solar thermal power still faces many obstacles.

"Alternative energy sources are important to ease the air pollution problem. But solar thermal projects in China are still in the experimental stages. It faces the problems of low efficiency and maintaining stability. Also, the lack of an industrial supply chain is also a problem."

China has already set a target of increasing its total renewable energy consumption to 478 million tones of coal equivalent. This would represent approximately 9.5% of the overall energy consumption in the country by 2015.

Another major smog contributor is motor vehicle emissions. The country's auto sales hit more than 19 million units in 2012, but alternative fuel cars only made up 0.6 percent of those sales.

The government has enacted new policies, such as tax exemptions, to support the growth of alternative fuel vehicles.

Consumers, however, still have their concerns.

"The cost of changing the battery is too expensive. It's hard for me to accept."

"I'm a bit concerned about the high maintenance cost in the future. Besides, the supporting facilities need to be built more comprehensively."

Though alternative fuel cars are barely on the radar at the moment, the country has set a target to have five million on its roads by 2020.

Moreover, China may also continue the subsidy on new-energy vehicles for another three years, according to Miao Wei, deputy to 12th National People's Congress, and Minister of China's Industry and Information Technology.

"I think chances are high that the subsidy policy will be extended. Talking about the growth of the new-energy vehicle industry, buses were the majority of such vehicles in the past, but the good news is that more and more individuals are purchasing them lately. Next, we plan to boost the development of new-energy cars for private use."

For CRI, I'm Wang Xiao.