CHINA
SUPPORTING POLICIES FOR OCEAN ENERGY
NATIONAL STRATEGY
The mid-term evaluation about “the 13th Five-Year Plan for Marine Renewable Energy (2016-2020)” was conducted by the MNR in 2018, and the National Ocean Technology Centre is responsible for the implementation of the mid-term evaluation. “the 13th Five-Year Plan for Marine Renewable Energy(2016-2020)” was released by State Oceanic Administration(SOA) in December 2016. The overarching vision of the Plan is to i) Promote the demonstration and application of marine renewable energy, ii) Focus on the breakthroughs in key technologies, iii) Improve the technology levels of marine renewable energy, iv) Strengthen the construction of public service platform, and v) Foster international cooperation in development of marine renewable energy”. By 2020, the total installed capacity of marine renewable energy will be more than 50 MW in China.
From August to November 2019, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) dispatched an inspection group to inspect and evaluate the implementation of Renewable Energy Law. The Law is enacted in order to promote the exploitation of renewable energy, increase energy supply, improve the energy structure, ensure energy safety, protect the environment, and attain the sustainable development of economy and society in China. The report will provide references for improving the renewable energy law in the future.
PUBLIC FUNDING PROGRAMMES
The new round of Special Funding Programme for Marine Renewable Energy (SFPMRE) was initiated. In 2018, a total budget of RMB 79 million was granted for 2 marine renewable energy demonstration projects, the 1 MW Zhoushan tidal current energy demonstration project and the optimization and application of a highly reliable MRE system. The special funding programme has invested above RMB 1.3 billion since 2010 and 115 MRE projects were funded.
In 2019, the temporary feed-in tariff for tidal current energy project was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) released the National Key Research and Development Programme (2019) of ‘Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Energy Technology’.
In order to promote renewable energy industries development, the NDRC, the MNR and other Ministries released the 2019 version of the Catalogue for the Guidance of Green Industries in February 2019. It will replace the old version of the Catalogue. There are 2 items of ocean energy in the new catalogue: 1) Equipment manufacturing for ocean energy, 2) Facilities construction and operation for ocean energy.
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) released a draft of the National Key Research and Development Programme ‘Renewable energy and hydrogen energy technology’ for public review in March 2018. NKRDP currently funds 3 ocean energy projects, two projects were awarded in 2019 and focusing predominantly on key technique of high-efficiency and high-reliability wave energy conversion, utilization methods and techniques of OTEC. In 2019, MOST released the application guidelines for projects in areas with IEA Cooperation as part of Intergovernmental Scientific and Technological Cooperation Projects. The objectives of the projects are to support collaborative research within the IEA TCPs.
