China Township Electrification Program

The China Township Electrification Program (Song Dian Dao Xiang) was a scheme to provide renewable electricity to 1.3 million people (around 200,000 households) in 1,000 townships[1] in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet.[2]

The program, one of the world's largest renewable energy rural electrification programs, used a mixture of small hydro, photovoltaics and wind power. It was launched in 2001 by the State Development Planning Commission (now the National Development and Reform Commission)[2] and was completed in 2005.[1]

The program is being succeeded by a similar but larger China Village Electrification Program which will bring renewable electricity to 3.5 million households in 10,000 villages by 2010, to be followed by full rural electrification by 2015.[1] China committed to generating 10% of its electricity from renewables by 2010.