The China Village Electrification Program (''Song Dian Dao Cun'') was a scheme to provide
renewable electricity
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
to 3.5 million households in 10,000 villages by 2010. This was to be followed by full
rural electrification
Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billi ...
using renewable energy by 2015.Renewables Global Status Report 2006 Update , ''
REN21
REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century) is a think tank and a multistakeholder governance group which is focused on renewable energy policy.
REN21's goal is to facilitate policy development, knowledge exchange, and joint ac ...
'', published 2006, accessed 2007-05-16
The total program was expected to cost in the region of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
5 billion, and solar generated electricity were expected to play a major role. China produces around 20% of the world’s total
solar cell
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.Enormous Growth of Chinese PV Industry , ''earthtoys.com'', published February 2007, accessed 2007-05-17]
Small hydro
Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less ...
and
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historicall ...
were also likely to be employed. The Program followed on from the smaller China Township Electrification Program which ended in 2005. China was committed to generating 10% of its electricity from renewables by 2010.