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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Photovoltaics for rural electrification in the People`s Republic of China

Conference ·
OSTI ID:355778
;  [1]
  1. National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

Rapid growth in economic development coupled with the absence of an electric grid in large areas of the rural countryside have created a need for new energy sources both in urban centers and rural areas in China. The most critical need for rural electrification exists in northern and western China, where 120 million rural people have no access to grid electricity, and in over 300 coastal islands that are unelectrified. The availability of solar and wind resources tends to correlate highest with those regions of China where the population density is low and grid extension is too costly and impractical to reach the rural population. In February, 1995, the US Department of Energy signed an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Protocol Agreement with the Chinese State Science and Technology Commission in Beijing, China. Under this agreement, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is providing assistance to several central government and provincial government agencies in China to develop photovoltaic and photovoltaic hybrid systems for rural electrification.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-83CH10093
OSTI ID:
355778
Report Number(s):
CONF-970441--; ISBN 0-89553-169-0
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English