I just received my electricity bill for the last couple months of winter. Whoever said coal-generated power in China was cheap hasn’t lived in Greater Shanghai. Now I really understand why so many Chinese south of the Yangtze River don’t even turn on their heating, even in the depths of winter. Save money!

Western countries seem to be standing aside and allowing China to capture the cost-effective end of the renewable energies market. According to the New York Times, China already produces the most solar panels and wind turbines in the world. “Yet many Western and Chinese executives expect China to prevail in the energy-technology race,” the Times writes. Domestic subsidies to buyers and energy producers (as well as the occasional diktat) the society already investing in less-polluting sources of energy than America and Europe. The sheer size of the market serves to further drive prices down. Of course, little is said about the processes and energy-efficiency of the manufacture of the renewable energy devices.

Now, from a global markets point of view, the country seems to be able to export the products to countries that have been politicking about investing in low-cost energy alternatives. But, as Ma Lingjuan, deputy managing director of China’s renewable energy association notes, “Every country, including the United States and in Europe, wants a low cost of renewable energy. Now China has reached that level, but it gets criticized by the rest of the world.”

My, aren’t we sensitive.

Further reading: NYT