Renewable energy subsidies should not be financed

In 2012, China's wind power installed capacity reached 63 million kilowatts, becoming the world's largest wind power country, with annual power generation exceeding 100 billion kilowatt-hours. The installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation has also been increased to 7 million kilowatts.

Recently, the domestic market has initiated frequent policies. However, there has been a gap in subsidy funds, and there are disagreements among people in the industry about the subsidy mechanism. In this regard, "First Financial Daily" reporter on February 18 interviewed the China International Economic Exchange Center invited researcher Fan Bi.

Fan Bi believes that most of the renewable energy projects are approved by local governments. The subsidy is shared by the entire network and is equivalent to “local guests and the central government”. He suggested that the existing subsidy mechanism should be improved, and a reasonable scale should be maintained as needed and possible to prevent the phenomenon of open subsidy.

Renewable energy project subsidies are not timely

Reporter: The development of renewable energy requires the support of subsidies. Since 2006, China has levied renewable energy power additions. In 2009, it established legislation to establish a renewable energy fund. This mechanism supports China's renewable energy installed capacity to leap into the forefront of the world. So, what are the drawbacks of this mechanism?

Fan Bian: Through the establishment of a renewable energy fund, subsidies are distributed across the entire network, which has effectively promoted the development of renewable energy, but the problems faced cannot be ignored.

First of all, renewable energy prices cannot be levied in full. According to the regulations, in addition to renewable energy price additions in Tibet, all other types of electricity used to sell electricity, including captive power plant users and large users who purchase electricity directly from power plants, should all be charged.

The renewable energy price surcharge standard was initially set to 1 pct/kWh, and gradually adjusted to 8 pct/kWh by December 1, 2011 (but the household's electricity consumption was maintained at 1 pc/kWh). In 2011, the entire society used 4.7 trillion kWh of electricity. If it can be collected in full, the total amount to be collected in 2011 should be about 20 billion yuan, and the actual collection should be about 10 billion yuan. In 2012, the amount to be collected is 40 billion yuan, and the actual levy may be about 20 billion yuan.

Second, there is a large gap between the collected funds and actual demand. According to estimates, nearly half of the fund demand cannot be met. In 2011, subsidies should be paid for 20.8 billion yuan, and the gap between actual demand and the amount of funds collected should be more than 10 billion yuan. The situation in 2012 is similar to this.

In addition, delays in granting renewable energy price subsidies after 2010 have been prolonged, resulting in serious arrears and the formation of a large number of "triangular debts" among enterprises.

Daily: It is understood that the relevant departments are planning to study the policies supporting the development of the photovoltaic industry, and they are prepared to adjust the additional levy standards for renewable energy prices in a timely manner in accordance with the needs of the development of photovoltaic power generation, and use the finance to make pre-disbursement to photovoltaic power generation enterprises. Do you think this can fundamentally solve the problem?

Fan Bian: These policies are generally positive, but they also give companies an expectation that as long as they are on photovoltaic projects, the state will have to subsidize them; if the subsidies are not enough, the price will rise; if the subsidies are not in place, the government will use pre-awards. The way to pocket. Taking into account the rise in electricity prices is often lagging behind the impact of various factors, such as inflationary pressures, business competition pressures. Once the increase in electricity prices is not in place, it is very likely that there will be no balance between revenue and expenditure after the financial advance. In the case of increasing fiscal revenues and revenue reductions in the coming years, this may be a new burden and it needs to be vigilant.

Subsidy gap or over 50 billion

Reporter: The National "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" proposes ambitious targets for renewable energy development. Can the existing subsidy mechanism provide enough support for future development?

Fan Bian: According to the published plan, by 2015, wind power will generate 200 billion kwh electricity, which will require subsidies of 40 billion yuan; photovoltaic power generation capacity will be 35 million kilowatts, generating 50 billion kilowatt hours of electricity that year, at 0.5 yuan per kilowatt hour. Subsidy standard calculation requires subsidies of 25 billion yuan; biomass power generation capacity of 13 million kilowatts, generating 70 billion kwh of electricity that year, requiring a subsidy of 28 billion yuan; grid access needs subsidies of 10 billion yuan.

Totaled above, the subsidy funds in 2015 will be no less than 100 billion yuan. According to the current levying level of 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, even if it is fully collected, the funds available for renewable energy price subsidies in 2015 will be around 48 billion yuan, and there will still be a shortfall of more than 50 billion yuan.

It can be foreseen that there will be a lot of investment in renewable energy in the future, and the installed capacity of the state plan may also be a major breakthrough. By that time, the country will face a dilemma, either defaulting on subsidies or rising electricity prices. At present, the downward pressure on China’s economic growth is very high, and the price of electricity will rise by a few cents, which will greatly affect the competitiveness of enterprises and will offset the concessions offered by the state’s structural tax cuts and other measures. In particular, in the context of slower growth in energy demand and continued growth in energy supply, the price of electricity has risen instead of falling and does not conform to the laws of the market.

The scale of subsidies should be adapted to the economic development situation. In order to avoid weakening the competitiveness of the enterprise, the price of electricity should not be significantly raised in the next few years, and the additional expropriation standard for renewable energy power should be maintained at 8 per kilowatt-hour. In order to implement the various renewable energy development goals identified in the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan”, the relevant departments and power grid enterprises shall solve the problem by collecting and tapping the potential of renewable energy funds. It is not appropriate to use financial funds to pre-allocate renewable energy subsidies for the power grid.