[09.09.06 L.A Times]China, green? In the case of solar water heating, yes

渔音谦谦

http://www.latimes.com/news/nati ... na-solar6-2009sep06,0,7213756.story?page=1


                                                                                                                                                                               China, green? In the case of solar water heating, yes                           
Ina nation known more for its belching smokestacks, solar water heatersare on nearly every roof in some cities. Manufacturers are eyeingforeign markets, including Southern California.                                                                                                                                                                  September 6, 2009

                                                   
                                                                                      
Ninety-nine percent of households in Rizhao, China, use solar waterheaters like these installed on rooftops of apartment buildings. (David Pierson / Los Angeles Times / August 27, 2009)

Reporting from Rizhao, China - Before her family bought a solar waterheater, Liu Yan would bathe the way many working-class Chinese have forgenerations: boil water, dampen a rag and wipe away the dirt.

Today, the 40-year-old mother and her family shower every day and washtheir dishes with hot water. The stainless steel heater affixed to herred-tiled roof cost about $220.

The device has become a symbol of China's rising standard of living and its leap into the era of clean energy.

In the seaside city of 2.8 million where Liu lives in Shandongprovince, 99% of households use solar water heaters. The mattress-sizedcontraptions dominate Rizhao's skyline, resting haphazardly on almostevery residential rooftop.

In the global race to develop green technology and stem climatechange, China has quickly become a leading producer of solar panels andwind turbines. It also dominates the lesser-known technology of solarwater heaters.

Using principles of solar heating more than a century old, the humble,low-cost devices consist of an angled row of cola-colored glass tubesthat absorb heat from the sun. The most common models fill the tubeswith cold water. As it heats, the water rises into an insulated tankwhere it can remain hot for days.

The devices have improved so much over the years that some don't needdirect sunlight -- all the more valuable in China's often hazy andsmoggy cities. Newer models have electrical heaters inside the watertanks that switch on if the water gets too cold on frigid days.

Popular in some parts of the United States around the turn of the 20thcentury before being made obsolete by cheap natural gas, solar heatersare now hailed as one of China's greatest environmental successstories. More than 30 million homes have the devices, accounting fortwo-thirds of the world's solar water heating energy.

Manufacturers are  eyeing foreign markets, including customers in Southern California.

"China absolutely dominates the global market and they've done itrelatively quietly and without a lot of fanfare," said ChristopherFlavin, president of the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute. "It'san interesting example of their ability to take technology that wasdeveloped elsewhere and adapt it to their market on a scale no one hadconceived of."

The widespread development of solar heaters in China can appearparadoxical in a country that leads the world in carbon dioxideemissions and where two-thirds of the rivers and lakes are contaminated.

Such is the nature of China's push to tackle climate change. In thisrapidly developing economy, some of the nation's biggest pollutersreside alongside the biggest renewable energy projects.

Scenes like Rizhao's crowded, energy-efficient rooftops are repeatedall over China, often in the shadows of carbon spewing smokestacks andnoxious chemical plants. Rizhao is one of a small but growing number ofChinese cities requiring solar heaters to be installed or subsidized.

"There are two different stories in China," said Barbara Finamore,director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's China Program."There's dramatic progress. There's no denying that. At the same time,they're still building, on average, a new coal-fired [power] plantevery week."

The heating of water accounts for a quarter of a typical building'senergy usage. The Chinese solar heaters are estimated to have preventedmore than 20 million tons of carbon dioxide that would have beenemitted annually using electrical units.

The heaters will be much needed if Beijing is to meet its goal ofreducing its reliance on coal, which supplies 80% of the country'senergy. The central government aims to meet 15% of its energy needsthrough renewable sources by 2020. Beijing hopes to triple its solarheater capacity by the same year, according to Greenpeace China.

The technology's gains here lie in its affordability, the dearth ofresidential natural gas service and the modest expectations ofconsumers, many of whom had never enjoyed hot water at home before. Thestarting price for one of the clunky devices is around $220, about thesame as an electric heater in China. In the United States, where laborcosts are higher and systems tend to be larger and more elaborate,solar water heaters can easily cost $1,500 or more.

"The key to the success in China is that the low price enables peopleto have an instantaneous payback," said John Perlin, a solar energyhistorian and author of "From Space to Earth: The Story of SolarElectricity."

A thriving, hyper-competitive industry of 5,000 manufacturers has grownup in the last decade or more, driving costs down and widening therange of quality.

"The market is huge, but the competition is fearsome," said BiBangquan, president of Ri- zhao Gold Giant Solar Power, one of 150manufacturers based in the city.

To find new customers, he's turned to rural areas. That can meansending sales teams to villages, where stages are erected for singingand dancing performers to promote the virtues of his solar heaters.

Each manufacturer touts  its product's ability to heat water within hours and insulate that heat for days.

"I guarantee my water's hot enough to take the feathers off a chicken,"said one of Bi's rivals, Zhang Shouqin, founder of Rizhao Qin NaierSolar Power.

Some Chinese companies hoping to boost sales are looking to othercountries, including the United States. Only about 1% of the world'ssolar water heating energy is produced in the U.S., but climate changeis spurring interest in the technology. The California Public UtilitiesCommission has recommended the establishment of a $300-millionincentive program to encourage homeowners to install units.


Bi dreams of exporting, but he's concerned that his heaters wouldbe no match for Western habits. A typical American uses 100 gallons ofwater daily, both hot and cold, according to the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency. In China, an urban resident uses half that, and arural dweller about a fifth.

Many of the older or cheaper Chinese models are far from perfect,lacking auxiliary heating elements to warm the water on cloudy days.

"I have to look outside and make sure it's been sunny before Idecide to take a shower," said a 53-year-old retiree in Rizhao who gaveonly his surname, Xiao. "Otherwise you'll get a cold surprise."

About 225 miles northwest of Rizhao is the headquarters of Himin SolarEnergy Group, China's largest and most advanced solar water heatermaker, which recently garnered a $50-million investment from GoldmanSachs.

Himin's influence runs deep in its hometown, Dezhou. The streets of thecity of 5.5 million are illuminated with solar-powered lights; 90% ofits households have solar water heaters.

Company founder Huang Ming is building an expansive residentialdevelopment in Dezhou called Utopia Garden to showcase the potential ofsolar technology. Scheduled for completion in 2013, the row ofhigh-rise buildings will be crowned with a ribbon of solar thermaltubing and photovoltaic panels that will supply much of the complex'senergy needs.

"We're only at the bottom of a big mountain," Huang said. Solar "can push a change in lifestyle."

david.pierson@latimes.com

Nicole Liu in The Times' Beijing Bureau contributed to this report.

渔音谦谦