When China talks, people listen. It's hard to ignore the nation with both the world's largest population and one of its biggest and fastest-growing economies. Now, China is directing its formidable resources at renewable energy, and at least one American business stands to benefit.
On Friday, the Chinese government set a goal of generating 10% of the country's power from renewable resources by 2010. The People's Republic is currently heavily dependent on domestic coal and, increasingly, imported oil. Indeed, as global oil prices surged over the past year, energy analysts cited China's growing economy as one of the factors behind tightening supplies.
With its economy expanding so fast, China may, in fact, need renewable energy to continue to thrive. The government expects to derive most of the renewable power from hydroelectric projects, according to The New York Times. But another option the country has been supporting is wind-power generators. Authorities have reportedly been lowering taxes on such systems to spur their development.
Enter everyone's favorite massive conglomerate: General Electric (NYSE:GE). Through its GE Wind Energy subsidiary, the company sells 51% of the world's wind turbines. Not surprisingly, the diversified giant is already an established player in China. In a recent San Francisco Chronicle article, General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt forecast that China will invest $300 billion in infrastructure over the next four years in areas such as energy and technology. In light of the government's latest pledge, this estimate may even be low.
Nor do China's ambitious renewable energy goals end in 2010. While the nation wants to generate 60 gigawatts from renewable sources by that year, it has set an objective of 121 gigawatts for 2020. With benchmarks such as these, the future looks bright for General Electric and other U.S. companies that can step in and meet the demand.
Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer living in Chicago, Ill. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned here.
