The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is scaling up distributed renewable energy with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The World Bank announced on 3 May the approval of a GEF grant close to $7.3 million for the Distributed Renewable Energy Scale-Up Project.

The PRC currently has the world’s largest hydropower, wind, solar PV, and geothermal capacity. However, it needs to improve energy efficiency and grid capacity further.

Distributed renewable energy technologies allow renewable energy to be used at source for consumption or grid stabilization. This reduces the need to transport renewable energy across vast distances between the point of production and the centers of demand.

The potential for distributed renewable energy is closely associated with the growth in battery storage capacity. These technologies are expected to help reduce emissions. However, they are still considered technically risky, lack developed business models, and require accompanying regulatory changes to deliver their full impact. The GEF grant will provide support for piloting and regulatory technical assistance to address these challenges.

Read the news release from the World Bank.