China to speed up renewable energy development

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The head of the National Energy Administration says China is speeding up the development and utilization of renewable energy such as nuclear and wind power. Zhang Guobao was speaking at the State Council's news conference on Friday.

The official said capacities for energy supply have strengthened considerably since the founding of New China. Total output of non-renewable energy has risen from 23 million tons of standard coal in 1949 to 2.6 billion tons, as of last year, making the country the largest energy producer in the world. China has also managed to stay self-reliant for more than 90 percent of its supplies.

And it's not stopping there, with even more effort going into developing new, renewable energy. Zhang Guobao predicts that Chinese capacity for wind energy will rank number one or two in the world in the near future. Plans are also underway to increase the contribution of renewable energy and nuclear power to the overall energy mix.