China to launch its first smart grid project

According to China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, State Grid Corp of China, the country’s largest power utility, will soon begin construction on what will be its first smart grid project. Located in Tianjin, North China, the first phase of the project is expected to be complete by the end of 2011.

According to the statement issued by the commission, once the smart grid has been rolled out across the country, electricity from renewable sources will supply 25 per cent of China’s electricity needs. The current target is to raise the proportion of renewable energy in the country’s generating mix to 15 per cent by 2020, from the 8.3 per cent recorded at the end of 2009 (China Knowledge).