Resource information
China promulgated the Medium and
Long-Term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in 2007,
which included targets of 2010 and 2020 for various
renewable energy technologies including biofuels. The 2010
biofuel targets were met and even surpassed except for
non-grain fuel ethanol; however, there is debate on whether
and how the country will be able to meet the 2020 biofuels
target. This paper provides a resource and technological
assessment of biofuel feedstocks, compares biofuel
production costs from various feddstocks and technologies,
and evaluates policies introduced in the country for the
development of biofuels. The paper also presents the
projections on the production of biofuels under various
policy scenarios. The study shows that China can potentially
satisfy its non-grain fuel ethanol target by 2020 from the
technology perspective. But it will probably fall far short
of this target without additional fiscal incentives as
production costs of non-grain feedstock based biofuels are
expected to remain relatively high. By contrast, the 2020
target of biodiesel production has a high probability of
being achieved because the target itself is relatively
small. With additional support policies, it could develop
even further.
