Intermediate Energy Technology in China

Abstract

This chapter discusses intermediate energy technology in China. China, the largest and the most populous of all the developing countries, has been forced by necessity to adopt an intermediate technology approach based on very similar principles; any effort to modernize her vast and backward countryside in any other way is hard to imagine. The adoption of intermediate technologies in China has been especially important. The energy output of large enterprises has increased dramatically since 1949, but virtually all of this production has been destined for major industries and urban areas. The latest addition to China's intermediate energy technologies has been the use of solar energy for water heating and cooking. While effective large-scale utilization of solar radiation faces difficult obstacles, simple solar furnaces are economically viable and can be used intermittently for household cooking, space and water heating, cooling, water desalination, and crop drying. The advantages of intermediate energy technologies for China are indisputable. Providing fuel and electricity for development of diverse local light industries, for agricultural modernization, and for household consumption, these projects while small are introducing modern technology in a way that allows for large-scale labor participation and reduces capital investment to the essential minimum.