China
The economic downturn caused a decrease in clean energy investments during 2009, according to several studies. However, booming investments in Asia, particularly in China's wind power, meant that global investments in clean energy remained stronger than expected.
China's Shenyang Blower Works Co., Ltd. (SPW) has ordered US$70 million worth of wind turbine electrical control systems from American Superconductor Corporation (Nasdaq:AMSC).
Will China dominate clean energy technologies in the near future?
If the rapid expansion of its wind and solar industries are any indication, China's global dominance may be a foregone conclusion.
Electric bicycles are no longer a fringe form of transportation.
The global market for electric bikes has blown up the last decade. The boom has been spurred by China where the number of electric bikes has skyrocketed from a few thousand in the 1990s to 120 million.
The European Union (EU) once again took the lead in global efforts to mitigate climate change when it recently confirmed its pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020.
On January 25th, Jia Sheng Holdings Ltd. (HKG:0729) saw its stock spike 67% after announcing it had agreed to sell a 2.5% stake to billionaire Li Ka-shing and also plans to purchase Union Grace Holdings, an electric car battery manufacturer.
eSolar, a global provider of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, and Penglai Electric, a privately-owned Chinese electrical power equipment manufacturer, recently signed a licensing agreement to build at least 2 gigawatts (GW) of solar thermal power plants in China over the next 10 years.
While the White House is still trying to convince Congress to pass his energy bill, China is moving forward with improvements to its energy policies.
While Barack Obama tries to nudge the Chinese government toward greater eco-awareness and improved energy policies, the move to alternative energy is already happening at the local level in some parts of China.
