The Government Incentives to Promote Renewable Ene

此处收录的是王明远博士于2004年7月在费城天普大学法学院参加“2004美中环境法律与政策圆桌讨论会”后所写的论文，是其从事美国能源法研究的成果之一。

The Government Incentives to Promote Renewable Energy in the US
Wang Mingyuan, Tsinghua University Law School

I. Introduction
A. What’s “renewable energy”
B. The Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy
C. The controversial environmental impacts of hydropower: why is hydroelectric energy excluded from the working definition of renewable energy?
D.Why should government Promote Renewable Energy
1. Free market and market failure regarding renewable energy
2.The new idea and requirements of Sustainable Development
3.Global Warming and International Regimes on Greenhouse Gases

II. Background: The brief History of Modern Energy-Environment Law and Policy in the US

III. The Legal Basis of US Government to Promote Renewable Energy
A. The Toolbox of US Government to Promote Renewable Energy
B. Major federal laws, provisions and programs
1. Major federal laws and provisions
2. Major federal Programs
C. The general picture of state and local laws, provisions and programs: taking California as an example

IV. Performances of the Government Incentives to Promote Renewable Energy in the US

V. Conclusions: the US experiences or lessons for the renewable energy development in China.

I. Introduction

A. What’s “renewable energy”

Generally speaking, renewable energy means the energy resources that could continuously be replenished by the natural world. Among them, the solar energy and wind energy are the most widely publicized examples.

It seems that there is not a universally accepted definition of “renewable energy”. For example, in the Energy Information Portal of the US Department of Energy, renewable energy consists of 7 specific forms: bio-energy, geothermal, hydrogen, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind; in the Clean Energy Home of the US Environmental Protection Agency, non-hydroelectric renewable energy refers to electricity supplied from the following renewable sources of power: solar, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas and wind; some scholars think that renewable energy resources include a considerable number of proven and emerging technologies, such as technologies of solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, ocean thermal energy, biomass energy, and so on; some scholars talk about the renewable energy without giving concerned definition at all. The legal definition for solar energy and other forms of renewable energy is very confusing because it’s far beyond the ordinary people’s intuition: according to section 3(1) of the Solar Energy Research Development and Demonstration Act of 1974, solar energy include both direct and indirect solar sources. The direct uses of sun’s rays are primarily in the forms of photovoltaic cells, solar thermal systems and solar buildings and the indirect uses of solar sources include biomass energy that relies on the sun’s role in the process of photosynthesis and wind energy and ocean thermal energy derived from differential solar heating of the land and water surfaces.

It’s necessary to define a working definition of the renewable energy for this right article. As you know, one of my primary purposes to explore the new field of US renewable energy law for the Roundtable Summer Program is to make this article a starting point for my research on the legal studies of energy problems in the coming years. Given the very limited time for organizing the article and the first step for me to come into this new legal field, I would like to focus on the following 4 forms of renewable energy: solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy and geothermal energy, in particular on the government promotion measures in the concerned Federal laws. Among the diverse forms of renewable energy, the above- mentioned ones have been proven and widely applied.

B. The Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy

Solar energy is continuously supplied to the earth by the sun and the most widely used ways to convert solar energy into electricity are photovoltaic and solar-thermal technologies. The environmental impacts of solar energy are very small except that solar energy installations prevent the land they occupy from being used for other purposes and that photovoltaic systems can negatively affect wildlife habitat because of the amount of land area the technology requires.

The environmental impacts of wind energy are also very few, except that large wind farms pose aesthetic concerns and wind turbines that are improperly installed or landscaped may introduce soil erosion problems, noise impacts, depending on the number of wind turbines on the farm.

Generating electricity from biomass can affect land resources in different ways. Biomass power plants, much like fossil fuel power plants, require large areas of land for equipment and fuel storage. If these biomass plants burn a waste source such as construction wood waste or agricultural waste, they can provide a benefit by freeing areas of land that might otherwise have been used for landfills or waste piles. Biomass grown for fuel purposes requires large areas of land and, over time, can deplete the soil of nutrients. However, fuel crops can be managed so that they stabilize the soil, reduce erosion, provide wildlife habitat, and serve recreational purposes. But generally speaking, the environmental impacts of biomass energy are few than those of traditional fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, because biomass power plants could produce relatively limited emissions such as nitrogen oxides, require some amounts of water for the boiler and cooling system, have a little water discharge, produce little amount of solid waste, in the form of ash, with extremely low levels of hazardous elements.

For geothermal power plants, only a small amount of water used in the process of creating electricity may evaporate and therefore not be returned to the ground. Also, for those geothermal plants that rely on hot, dry rocks for energy, water from local resources is needed to extract the energy from the dry rocks, but groundwater may be contaminated when drilling wells and extracting hot water or steam. However, this type of contamination can be prevented with proper management techniques. In addition, geothermal power plants often re-inject used water back into the ground (through separate wells) instead of discharging the used water into surface waters. This prevents underground minerals or pollutants from being introduced into surface waters. Geothermal power plants typically require the use of less land than fossil fuel power plants. However, if water is not re-injected into the ground after use to maintain pressure underground, it may cause sinking of land at the surface.

C. The controversial environmental impacts of hydropower: why is hydroelectric energy excluded from the working definition of renewable energy?

As to the environmental impacts of hydropower, although it is also a very important form of renewable energy resource, because it uses the earth''s water cycle to generate electricity, it can usually, because of the construction and operation of dams, especially large scale dames, lead to great adverse environmental impacts such as the affection of the flow of rivers, ecosystems, wildlife, soil erosion along the riverbed upstream and downstream, and people that depend on those waters. In addition, the construction of hydropower plants can alter sizable portions of land when dams are constructed and lakes are created, flooding land that may have once served as wildlife habitat, farmland, and scenic retreats. Generally speaking, hydropower, especially hydropower from large projects is much more controversial than the 4 forms of renewable energy discussed above. That’s the exact reason why it’s excluded from the working definition of renewable energy in this article.

D. Why should government Promote Renewable Energy

1. Free market and market failure regarding renewable energy

In the energy market, compared to the conventional energy resources such as coal and oil, the renewable energy resources are, generally speaking, much more environmentally friendly and therefore, for the benefits of both economy and environment, should be encouraged for development and use. Unfortunately, the market mechanism itself does not work well, sometime even does not work at all for this. One of the key reasons is that, the environmental benefits resulting from the development and use of renewable energy resources, a form of positive externality or market failure, could not be measured by the price signals and therefore could not be incorporated into the market system. Another key reason is that, because of the differences of project scale and the technology maturity, the cost for developing and using renewable energy is usually more expensive and less competitive than that for the fossil fuel energy, especially electricity from coal-burning power plant.

2.The new idea and requirements of Sustainable Development

According to the World Commission on Environment and Development (Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, 1987), Sustainable Development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." It implies economic growth, social progress together with the protection of natural environment, each reinforcing one another. The essence of this form of development is a stable relationship between human activities and the natural world, which does not diminish the prospects for future generations to enjoy a quality of life at least as good as our own. In other words, sustainable development requires economic growth and social development based on balanced ecological systems, which is fair and good for both present and future generations. From the perspectives of comprehensive development of the integrated economy-society-environment system, decision-makers today should have to take the moral and legal obligations for the achievements of both intra-generation equality and inter-generation equality.
Generally speaking， Since the 1992 “Earth Summit”， Sustainable Development has been widely accepted as the right model for our human beings, including those of the developed world and the developing world，and people have also realized that states and governments should take their special responsibilities for the achievement of Sustainable Development. For example, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development stresses that“Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.”（the Principle 1）；“The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.”（the Principle 3）；“States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth''s ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit to sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.”（Principle 7）；“States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and development context to which they apply. Standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and social cost to other countries, in particular developing countries.”（Principle 11）；“National authorities should endeavor to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment.”（Principle 16）；“States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfillment of the principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field of sustainable development.”（Principle 27）；“Agenda 21”(1.3.) addresses the pressing problems of today and also aims at preparing the world for the challenges of the next century·····，Its successful implementation is first and foremost the responsibility of Governments. National strategies, plans, policies and processes are crucial in achieving this. International cooperation should support and supplement such national efforts. In this context, the United Nations system has a key role to play. Other international, regional and subregional organizations are also called upon to contribute to this effort. The broadest public participation and the active involvement of the non-governmental organizations and other groups should also be encouraged.

The development and use of renewable energy is desirable model for the achievement of sustainable development because it’s, on the whole, much more beneficial for energy security, public health and environmental safety, which is one of the common challenges for all societies and states in the modern world, especially US and other developed countries.

3.Global Warming and International Regimes on Greenhouse Gases

It’s generally accepted that the Earth''s surface temperature has risen in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades, and that most of the warming is attributable to human activities, which have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

Actions have been taking at every level, from international to local, to reduce, to avoid, and to better understand the risks associated with greenhouse gases and global warming. Among them，United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol are the key commitments and measures taken to control and reduce the greenhouse gases by the international community. Although US is not yet a member to these international documents, as the No.1 greenhouse gases emitter on the earth, it is inevitably facing the pressure to take the responsibility of reducing its greenhouse gases. For this end, the development and use of renewable energy is one of the desirable ways.

II. Background: The brief History of Modern Energy-Environment Law and Policy in the US

For most of the history, the US government did not play an active role in the affairs of energy and environment. However, with the breakout of energy crises and environmental movement in the 1970s, the US government was forced to take strong counter-measures respectively, to strengthen the regulation on the energy sector and environmental activities. Accordingly, not only more and more energy laws and regulations were passed, with the purpose of providing affordable energy by sustaining competitive markets, while protecting the economic, environmental, and security interests of the US, but also more and more environmental laws and regulations were passed, with the main objective of assuring the environment be protected against both public and private actions that failed to take account of costs or harms inflicted on the eco-systems.
In 1977, the Department of Energy was created and a national energy plan emerged for the first time in US. Ever since, government oversight has played a central role in the energy sector, but in recent years there has been a shift towards deregulation of various energy industries, aiming to increase market competition.

Years before the establishment of the US Department of Energy，in 1970，the Environmental Protection Agency had been created to monitor and analyze the environment, conduct research, and work closely with state and local governments to devise pollution control policies.

It’s well known that many environmental issues, in particular air pollution issues such as greenhouse gases and acid rain, are very closely related to energy activities, but the legal system of energy and the legal system of environment in US are, on the whole, separated and relatively independent ones.
For a long time, especially since the 1980s, the focus of energy policy has been principally driven by the considerations of environmental protection and sustainable development. In the US, there are also some specific laws and regulations reconciling energy and environment directly, bridging these two areas. These laws and regulations could usually be called clean energy law, or energy-environment law. Among them, most belong to the renewable energy Law. Solar Energy Research and Development Act of 1974, Wind Energy Improvement Act of 1980, Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act of 1979, Geothermal Energy Research Development and Demonstration Act of 1974, Geothermal Energy Act of 1980, Energy Policy Act of 1992,etc.are all good examples of clean energy law, which are generally speaking more environmentally friendly than ordinary energy law.

III. The Legal Basis of US Government to Promote Renewable Energy

A. The Toolbox of US Government to Promote Renewable Energy

The legal instruments for the government to promote renewable energy, in particular those at the state and local levels are very abundant and developed. The following are the main items in the toolbox:

1.Tax incentive (including corporate tax, personal income tax, sales tax and property tax);
2.Grant incentive
3.Loans incentive;
4. Rebates incentive;
5. Industry recruitment incentive;
6. Leasing/Purchase incentive;
7. Production incentive;
8.Public benefit fund;
9.Green power purchasing policies;
10. Renewables portfolio standards;
11. Construction and design policies;
12. Net metering rules;
13. Generation disclosure rules.

B. Major federal laws, provisions and programs

In the US, the legal basis for the government to promote renewable energy is evolving and complex system consisting of related laws, provisions and programs at federal, state and local levels.

1. Major federal laws and provisions

a. Solar Energy Research and Development Act of 1974, encouraging the use of solar energy;

b. Geothermal Energy Research Development and Demonstration Act of 1974, enhancing geothermal use;

c. Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act of 1979, incentives for alternate, renewable fuels;

d. Energy Tax Act of 1978, encouraging investment in solar, wind technologies and other environmentally friendly energy technologies through the use of tax credits;

e. Wind Energy Improvement Act of 1980, incentives for development of wind energy systems;

f. Geothermal Energy Act of 1980, incentives for increasing production of geothermal energy;

g. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989, promoting research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies;

h. Energy Policy Act of 1992, in particular SUBCHAPTER V - RENEWABLE ENERGY, with the purposes of promoting the increases in the production and utilization of energy from renewable energy resources; further advances of renewable energy technologies; and exports of US renewable energy technologies and services.

2. Major federal Programs

The federal government has a number of programs encouraging the research, development, and implementation of renewable energy technologies. These programs are funded or supported by various federal departments, such as Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration, etc. Some of these programs provide direct funding to individuals, including residents and businesses. Some of the programs guarantee bank mortgages that can be used to purchase or refinance homes using renewable energy. Some programs provide grants and loans to states and local governments. Other programs provide funding for research and development projects.

The following are some federal programs as examples.

ENERGY STAR financing and mortgages are offered by private lenders and give consumers the incentive to purchase ENERGY STAR-labeled products and homes. EPA allows lenders to use the ENERGY STAR label on financing products that meet EPA''s labeling criteria, but it does not fund or insure the financing.

Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM), can be used by residential to finance technologies such as photovoltaics, solar water and space heating, and energy efficiency in a new or existing home. Both government insured and conventional EEMs are available, they are federally recognized loan programs and can be applied to most home mortgages. All buyers who qualify for a home loan qualify for the EEM. The EEM is intended to give the buyer of energy-efficient house additional benefits on top of their usual mortgage deal.

Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System allows industrial and commercial businesses recover investments in solar, wind and geothermal property, such as property of solar water heat, solar space heat, solar thermal electric, solar thermal process heat, photovoltaics, wind and geothermal electric, through depreciation deductions. In addition to the MACRS depreciation, under Section 101 of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, businesses can take an additional 30% depreciation on solar, wind and geothermal property in the first year. In May 2003, The Job Creation and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 was signed into law, increasing the bonus depreciation to 50% in the first year that the equipment is purchased and placed into service.

The Renewable Electricity Production Credit, a per kilowatt-hour tax credit for electricity generated by qualified energy resources, was originally enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, then extended in March 2002 as part of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 after it had expired at the end of 2001. On October 4, 2004, the credit was extended once more as part of the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 through December 31, 2005 after it had expired at the end of 2003. Furthermore, REPC, which formerly only applied to wind energy, closed-loop biomass, and poultry waste energy projects, was expanded by the Section 710 of the "American Jobs Creation Act of 2004", which was signed into law on October 22, 2004, to cover all the following items: wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal energy, solar energy, small irrigation power (150 kW - 5 MW), municipal solid waste.

Under the Solar and Geothermal Business Energy Tax Credit Program ensured by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the U.S. federal government offers a 10% tax credit to businesses that invest in or purchase energy property, including solar energy equipment that uses solar energy to generate electricity, to heat or cool a structure, or to provide solar process heat, geothermal energy equipment used to produce, distribute, or use energy derived from a geothermal deposit.

The Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Grant Program, a program of the Department of Agriculture, has provided funding for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 for eligible agricultural producers and rural small businesses to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy improvements, including those that derive energy from a wind, solar, biomass, or geothermal source, or hydrogen derived from biomass or water using wind, solar, or geothermal energy sources.

Green power purchasing goal for government is also worth mentioning. The Executive Order 13123, issued in 1999, requires federal agencies to increase their use of renewable energy to a percentage determined by the secretary of energy. In 2000, Secretary of Energy directed that federal agencies obtain the equivalent of 2.5% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2005. Under this order, solar, wind, biomass and geothermal systems installed after 1990 qualify as renewable energy resources.

C. The general picture of state and local laws, provisions and programs: taking California as an example

Except for the federal laws, provisions and programs promoting renewable energy, almost each state, county and city has its own legal basis for this.
The following examples are some of those in the State of California.

The Agricultural Biomass to Energy Program: under the California Senate Bill 704, which was enacted into law on September 22, 2003, the Agricultural Biomass to Energy Program was created to reduce the amount of agricultural fuels that are open-field burned, by providing financial incentives to eligible biomass facilities for each green ton of qualified agricultural biomass purchased and converted into energy by the facility from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.This program was designed and implemented by the Energy Commission.
The Property Tax Exemption for Solar Systems: according to the California Revenue and Taxation Code, section 73, active solar energy systems installed between January 1, 1999 and January 1, 2006 are not subject to property taxes when assessing property for property tax purposes.

The Emerging Renewables Program: carried out by the California Energy Commission, the primary goal of this program is to stimulate market demand and to develop a self-sustaining market for emerging renewable energy technologies of photovoltaics, solar thermal electric systems, fuel cells using renewable fuels, and small wind turbines, that meet certain eligibility requirements, by offering rebates to reduce the initial cost of the customers.

The Solar or Wind Energy System Credit Program: Personal and corporate income tax credits are provided for the purchase and installation of photovoltaic or wind driven systems with a peak generating capacity of up to 200 kilowatts. After January 1, 2004 and before January 1, 2006, the tax credit is equal to 7.5% of the net installed system cost after deducting the value of any municipal, state, or federal sponsored financial incentives, or $4.50 per watt of rated peak generating capacity, whichever is less. A 15% tax credit was available Jan 1, 2001 - Dec 31, 2003. The California Franchise Tax Board, in consultation with the California Energy Commission, administers this program.
Existing and New Building Construction Requirements: the California Department of General Services, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, shall ensure that solar energy equipment is installed, no later than January 1, 2007, on all state buildings and state parking facilities, where feasible, that Solar energy equipment shall be installed where feasible as part of the construction of all state buildings and state parking facilities that commences after December 31, 2002.

Renewables Portfolio Standard: California Senate Bill No.1078, signed into law on December 12, 2002, established the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, which required that a retail seller of electricity purchase a specified minimum percentage of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources in any given year as a specified percentage of total kilowatthours sold to retail end-use consumers each calender year. The above mentioned eligible renewable energy resources include biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaics, wind, geothermal, fuel cells using renewable fuels, small hydropower of 30 megawatts or less, digester gas, landfill gas, ocean wave, ocean thermal, and tidal current. Municipal solid waste is generally only eligible if it is converted to a clean burning fuel using a non-combustion thermal process.

Los Angeles Solar Incentive Program: run by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Board of Commissioners, the purpose of this solar rebate program is to encourage the use of renewable energy through the installation of photovoltaic systems by residents and businesses in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Green Power Purchasing: on March 2，2001，the Los Angeles City Council approved one of largest purchases of renewable green power in the US. Beginning in July 2001, 10% of the city government''s electricity purchases will go for new clean, renewable energy sources. This purchase will amount to 50 million-kilowatt hours of electricity annually. With previous commitments from LA World Airports and the city''s Water System, the total city government purchase will be more than 70 million-kilowatt hours of new green energy, amounting to 14% of the electricity used by the city government.

Santa Clara Solar Water Heating Program: Since 1975, the City of Santa Clara has taken a leading role in developing and promoting the use of solar energy. That year, the City established the nation''s first municipal solar utility. Under the Solar Water Heating Program, the City supplies, installs and maintains solar water heating systems for residents and businesses within Santa Clara through its Water & Sewer Utilities Department. Solar equipment is offered by the city for the heating of swimming pools, process water, and domestic hot water. The pieces of hardware (solar collectors, controls and storage tanks) are owned and maintained by the city under a rental agreement. The renter pays an initial installation fee and a monthly utility fee. The pieces of hardware are owned and maintained by the City under a rental agreement, the renter pays an initial installation fee and a monthly utility fee.

IV. Performances of the Government Incentives to Promote Renewable Energy in the US

Three key objectives, reliability and security, affordability and economic growth, environment and public health usually underlie the energy policy today. For example, the National Energy Policy of US, 2001, stresses “Reliable, Affordable, and Environmentally Sound Energy for America’s Future ”, and the EU energy policy also stresses “Europe''s future depends on its energy supply being safe, ecologically sustainable and affordable”.

Generally speaking, over the past 10 years or more, the focus of energy policy worldwide has been driven principally by the considerations of environment and sustainable development. Whether the goal is to combat global warming, to encourage investment in a fast-growing new industry, or to provide energy independence and security, many programs in Germany, Japan, Australia and other developed countries have, through subsidy and regulations, created renewable energy markets. However, in the US, although the legal measures for the government to promote renewable energy are relatively developed, the progress of the renewable energy market and the diversification of the traditional energy prosperity appears to be frustrating. For example, in 2003, only about 3.3% of the energy consumed came from non-dydro renewable energy sources, namely solar, wind, biomass and geothermal energy, much less than that of the petroleum (40%), coal (23%), natural gas (23%) and nuclear (8%) . From the historical perspective, despite of the great improvements and cost reduction of renewable energy technologies worldwide, the consumption amount in US of the above mentioned non-hydro renewable energy sources declined from 3.456 quadrillion Btu in 1989 to 3.35 quadrillion Btu in 2003. Among them, the consumption of solar and geothermal energy had remained almost unchanged, the consumption of biomass energy declined from 3.062 quadrillion Btu in 1989 to 2.865 quadrillion Btu in 2003, and the consumption of wind energy increased from 0.022 quadrillion Btu in 1989 to 0.108 quadrillion Btu in 2003.

Obviously, the global renewable energy market is booming, mainly because of the great demand created by the Kyoto Protocol and other international environmental agreements, while the US domestic market is declining. The passive position of the US federal government on global warming, its very strong and lasting support of fossil fuels industries, the unequal playing field of the US energy market, are among the key elements that hinder the further development of renewable energy.

V. Conclusions: the US experiences or lessons for the renewable energy development in China.

From what has been discussed above, we could draw the following conclusions, as experiences or lessons for the renewable energy development in China.

A. For the development of non-hydro renewable energy in US, both market force and government promotion play their roles;

B. Government intervention in the renewable energy market is based on concerned laws, regulations, ordnances or programs at federal, state and local levels;

C. Despite of the perfection in form of the renewable energy legal systems and the government incentives for renewable energy industry in US, the actual achievements of renewable energy development is very limited, because the government’s strong supports for both fossil fuels and renewable energy lead to unequal playing field in energy market and the inferior position of renewable energy industry. With no further incentives reform, with no greater support in substance to renewable energy technologies, there will be no success of renewable energy production and consumption;

D. For the development of renewable energy industry in China, which is still at the beginning stage, what we should have is not only a good legal system in form for renewable energy, but also an equal or even superior competitive position in the energy market.

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See Adrian J. Bradbrook ,Richard L. Ottinger, Energy Law and Sustainable Development, IUCN-The World Conservation Union 2003, p.85.
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(visited 25July, 2004)< http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/renew.htm#solar>.
See EPA, Electricity from Non-Hydroelectric Renewable energy Sources.
(visited 25July, 2004)< http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/renew.htm#wind>.
See EPA, Electricity from Non-Hydroelectric Renewable energy Sources.
(visited 27July, 2004)<http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/renew.htm#biomass>.
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(visited 27July,2004)<http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/renew.htm#geothermal>.
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<http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/hydro.htm>.
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<http://www.dsireusa.org/summarytables/financial.cfm?&CurrentPageID=7>; DSIRE, Rules, Regulations & Policies, (visited 19 November)< http://www.dsireusa.org/summarytables/reg1.cfm?&CurrentPageID=7>.

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<http://www.energy.ca.gov/renewables/emerging_renewables/more_info.html>.
See CALIFORNIA REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE §23684, §17053.84.
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< http://cho.ci.santa-clara.ca.us/pub_utility/ws_muni_solar.html>.
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