BEIJING: China is planning to construct three ocean energy test sites off the coast of Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, authorities said here the other day.
The three sites will serve as a testing ground for ocean power generators and support the development of the marine energy industry, Xia Dengwen, vice head of the National Center for Marine Technology under the State Oceanic Administration, said during a forum in Weihai, Shandong Province.
The sites will be located at the Weihai Port in Shandong, Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang and Wanshan Islands in Guangdong.
The Weihai site will be a shallow water test site. The Zhoushan and Wanshan sites will focus on tidal current energy and wave energy respectively, Xia said.
China has an estimated marine energy reserve of over 1.58 billion kilowatt-hours, with the potential to harness 650 million kWh. Developing ocean energy can help ease the power shortage in the coastal areas.
In May 2010, China set up a fund of 1 billion yuan (US$161 million) to invest in renewable ocean energy programs.
