Hong Kong must warm to the benefits of solar power in future energy mix

There is a persistent and almost universal misperception in Hong Kong that solar energy is an insignificant, costly and unreliable potential source of electricity for the city. The latest manifestations of this appear throughout the Environment Bureau's recent consultation document on the future fuel mix for electricity generation, in which solar energy and renewable energy in general are dismissed.

The fact is that Hong Kong has a relatively high solar energy resource that could deliver more than 10 per cent of our fuel mix with currently available technology and no additional land requirements.

The cost of solar electricity is rapidly approaching parity with conventional electricity and modest subsidies now could accelerate its deployment and stimulate a whole new industry in Hong Kong.

The city receives 1,350 kilowatt hours of solar energy per square metre per year, comparable to mainland China (1,000-2,200), Japan (1,000-1,600) and Britain (900-1,300), countries that were among the five fastest-growing solar electricity markets globally in 2013.

Despite its abundant solar resources, Hong Kong's installed solar generating capacity is only about 2 megawatts. Per capita, that is less than 0.4 per cent of the installed capacity in the UK (not a notably sunny place), where 1,900 solar rooftops are being completed every week and an estimated 25,000 new jobs have been created. Last year, worldwide solar investments reached US$115 billion, of which half was in Asia, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

These figures indicate that Hong Kong is missing out on an important opportunity for economic development and cleaner energy.