The "Development Plan for the Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Industry," jointly compiled by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, has been basically completed and will be submitted to the State Council soon. Energy conservation and environmental protection have been listed as the top priority among the seven strategic emerging industries. The plan will focus on supporting six key areas: high-efficiency energy-saving technologies and equipment, high-efficiency energy-saving products, energy-saving service industry, advanced environmental protection technologies and equipment, and environmental protection products and services, providing policy support in areas such as finance, taxation, and banking.
Specifically, in the energy conservation industry, the focus is on two aspects: First, developing high-efficiency energy-saving technologies and equipment, including boilers and kilns, motors and drive equipment, waste heat and pressure utilization equipment, and energy-saving monitoring technologies and equipment. The key focus is on demonstrating and promoting rare-earth permanent magnet coreless motors and new cogeneration centralized heating technologies based on absorption heat exchange. Second, developing high-efficiency energy-saving products, including household and commercial appliances, lighting products, building materials, and automobiles. The focus is on researching and demonstrating new energy-saving vehicles and supporting systems with independent intellectual property rights, and promoting high-efficiency energy-saving products with energy efficiency levels 1 and 2.
Third, develop the energy-saving service industry and promote energy-saving service companies to provide energy-consuming units with "one-stop" services such as energy-saving diagnosis, design, financing, renovation and operation, and a market-oriented energy-saving service model that recovers investment through energy-saving benefit sharing.
In the environmental protection industry, the focus is on three aspects: First, developing advanced environmental protection technologies and equipment, including wastewater and waste treatment, desulfurization and denitrification, treatment of high-concentration organic wastewater, soil remediation, and monitoring equipment, with a focus on breakthroughs in membrane bioreactors, denitrification and phosphorus removal, lake cyanobacteria control, and sludge harmless treatment technologies and equipment. Second, developing environmental protection products, including environmental protection materials and agents, with a focus on research and development and industrial demonstration of membrane materials, high-performance anti-seepage materials, denitrification catalysts, solid waste treatment solidifying agents and stabilizers, and alternative products for persistent organic pollutants. Third, developing environmental protection services, establishing an environmental protection industry service system mainly composed of financing and investment, engineering design and construction, facility operation and maintenance, technical consulting, and personnel training, and increasing the implementation of concession agreements for pollution control facilities.
In the resource recycling industry, the focus is on the development of combined mineral resources, bulk industrial solid waste, remanufacturing of auto parts and mechanical and electrical products, recycling of renewable resources, resource utilization of kitchen waste, construction waste, road asphalt and agricultural and forestry waste.
According to estimates by relevant industry associations and experts, by the end of 2009, the total output value of China's energy conservation and environmental protection industry reached 1.71 trillion yuan, with more than 500 energy service companies registered with the Energy Conservation Service Industry Association and more than 1,000 urban sewage and garbage disposal companies. It is projected that from 2010 to 2015, investment in the construction of urban sewage and garbage disposal facilities and flue gas desulfurization and denitrification facilities will reach more than 600 billion yuan, and the scale of operation and service will exceed 600 billion yuan.
–Source: China Securities Journal
