China Plans to Build National Renewable Energy Center

China plans to build a national renewable energy center to further shore up development of the industry, the China Daily reported Wednesday.

The establishment of the center is in the preliminary planning stages, the newspaper quoted Han Wenke, director general of Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission as saying.

The center will be responsible for policy-making, key project and program management, market and industrial operations, database and information platform establishment as well as international exchanges, according to the newspaper.

Han made these remarks at the launch of a Sino-Danish Renewable Energy Development Program Tuesday, without providing further detail.

China made great progress in renewable energy growth last year. It accounted for 7.5 percent of the country's primary energy consumption in 2009 - or the equivalent of 230 million tons of coal, the newspaper quoted Liu Qi, National Energy Administration vice-director as saying at the same occasion.

"No matter what happens with international climate change negotiations, reducing fossil fuel consumption and developing renewable energy will be the best way to ensure a secure energy supply," the newspaper quoted Liu as saying.