In a recent Boston Globe story entitled, “China leads world in race to make clean energy“,  there are some astounding project facts and figures.  1.12 million jobs – yes, that’s 1.2 million jobs – in renewable energy, and about 100,000 jobs a year added to that total since 2008.  China’s plans call for 8% of its energy to be produced by wind, solar and biomass by 2020.  Compare that to 4% in the United States.  Behind this is a commitment from the government, about $45B was committed to upgrading the electrical grid in 2009 alone.

Companies which produce the turbines for wind power, such as Vestas of Denmark, are investing.  The world’s largest wind turbine manufacturing complex is being built by Vestas in China.

The Wall Street Journal has also covered the subject, casting some doubt on the numbers provided by the government.

Yes, says the Journal, there is an effort to have 35% of the power come from clean energy sources, but “what’s really telling is the other 65% of that energy mix: coal. By 2020, China will have between 900 and 1,000 gigawatts of coal-fired plants producing electricity. That’s roughly as much as the entire U.S. electricity system today—and the vast majority of those coal plants won’t be “clean.””.

Still, projects to accelerate the pace to green energy abound.  For example, the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (page mainly in Chinese)  focuses on three priority areas:

• To bring together regulatory agencies, research institutes and industry professionals to promote debate and advise on government policy;
• To bring together national and international project developers and investors and raise awareness of renewable investment opportunities through regional networking, training and online  forums; and
• To provide a platform for its members of the renewable energy business community to voice their collective concerns.

You can read more about some of the projects that all of this has launched in this article provided by GreenInc - an excellent resource for Green PMs.  While there may be debate about the numbers, and of course the politics of it all, the lesson for project managers is simple and straightforward.  The green wave is not a ripple.  It’s more of a tsunami*.

*We realize that tsunami is a Japanese term, however it is written with Kanji (original Chinese) characters 津波.