World Bank lends China $87 mln for renewable energy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank said on Friday it would lend China $87 million to help expand the supply of renewable electricity in Asia’s economic powerhouse and giant energy consumer.

“China’s abundant undeveloped resources of small hydropower, wind, biomass, geothermal and solar energy … could help the country reduce some of the environmental damage from its overwhelming dependence on coal for large-scale, grid-based power generation,” the global lender said.

The World Bank said the funds would support Beijing’s efforts to create a more competitive power market, to give producers access to better technology and to scale-up the capacity of existing renewal energy projects.

Goals of the project include boosting China’s production of renewable electricity and reducing carbon and other particulate emissions, the Washington-based development institution said.

Reuters