China can only be a major economic power if it cracks the energy nut. This means it must secure stable energy supplies and generate clean power. What role can Hong Kong play? The country has large coal deposits, but coal burning emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, which creates global warming. As the world's largest carbon emitter, China knows it must burn coal more cleanly and, at the same time, invest heavily in renewable power, which is why giant wind farms are being developed in northern China. Indeed, China is a leading developer of hydro and solar power, and could become the global leader in clean-energy production in the next decade.
Meanwhile, there is a need to clean up coal-based power generation. With the current economic downturn, China can close down old, highly polluting coal power plants because energy consumption is down. It was difficult to close these plants when demand was high. Nevertheless, 34 gigawatts' worth of power was eliminated through closures of such plants between 2006 and 2008, and the same amount of power can be expected to be cut over the next couple of years through the same measures. Moreover, China has invested in new, highly efficient 'supercritical' coal plants, which emit less pollution including carbon, as well as in coal-to-gas plants, which are also much cleaner. These efforts are coupled with a drive to improve energy efficiency in all industrial sectors.
What can Hong Kong do? Our electricity comes from coal and natural-gas-fired plants, and one of our utilities also buys nuclear power from the mainland. The general direction of our energy and environmental policies is to reduce coal usage by using more gas, although there are few details. Hong Kong will need to secure a lot more gas if it is to wean itself off coal altogether and the authorities have said very little about whether this is the ultimate goal. No matter how this issue is resolved, the power generation and distribution process should be as energy efficient as possible. This means that the utilities can lower their operating costs, and emissions can be reduced.
The utilities may also invest in renewable power, and they are looking at offshore wind farms. Research shows that Hong Kong has only modest wind potential, which makes investment just about possible. If the costs involved are not considered worthwhile, it does not mean there is nothing else Hong Kong can do. Our utilities and other companies have already invested elsewhere, including in renewable power, solar panels, batteries and energy-efficient products.
End-users must also be encouraged to be energy efficient. While Hong Kong has a range of policies pointing in the right direction, such as energy labelling, promoting carbon audits and tightening building codes, we can do more.
There is no doubt that our buildings need to be much more energy efficient in terms of both how they are designed and how they operate after they are built. There is no excuse for new buildings not to be designed to be as energy efficient as today's technology allows. Hysan Development's Hennessy Centre in Causeway Bay is a case in point. While it has yet to be built, it has received the highest pre-certification, under the US Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system. Indeed, this shows the government should now tighten Hong Kong's own building and energy codes to give us a new generation of energy-efficient buildings.