Solar power plants exemplify push for green energy
In the village of Nanzhaike in the eastern suburbs of Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Zhang Yazhou's house stands out.
More than half of the courtyard is occupied by dozens of solar panels. It is a (photovoltaic) power plant, or "household-distributed PV solar power generating system," a tiny part of China's big push for renewable energy.
Can green energy tackle climate change? A national plan aims to bring non-fossil fuels up to about 15 percent of energy consumption by 2020, from the 9.8 percent at the end of last year.
Zhang, 61, a retiree from a power firm, spent more than 300,000 yuan (US$49,000) on his power plant. It can generate 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day, 12 times his requirement.
Such plants, scattered around neighborhoods, factories and offices, can sell extra power to local power grids.
Zhang plans to have the plant connected to the local grid, which will buy his excess supply for 0.45 yuan per kWh, the same price as household electricity.
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