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China and Germany Agree on Energy Efficiency Program

March 30, 2014 by Jeff Shepard

China and Germany have decided to implement a joint working program to promote energy efficiency in buildings and cities in 2014. The program involves the construction of Efficient Houses, the organization of information events and the selection of pilot cities for a sustainable urban development project. The Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German Energy Agency – announced the joint program on the occasion of the most prominent green building conference in China.

"German-Chinese co-operation has taken an important step forward," emphasized dena's Chief Executive Stephan Kohler. "The joint working group will decide on a suitable approach and concrete co-operation projects will show what can be done in practice. China is very interested in energy efficiency and German companies are the ideal partners to deliver it."

In Beijing, dena and its Chinese partners agreed on four new pilot projects: the construction of residential buildings in the cities of Zhuzhou (Hunan) and Ledu (Qinghai), the construction of two schools in Beidaihe (Hebei) and the refurbishment of an office building in Qingdao (Shandong). All in all, dena is now supervising over a dozen German-Chinese Efficient House projects. One of them was completed in Qinhuangdao (Hebei) in October 2013 and has received the new energy efficiency certificate of the Hebei province.

At the Green Building Conference, dena presented energy efficiency made in Germany, organizing a "German day" on passive house technology and an exhibition stand for German suppliers. This year, the exhibition partners included Geberit, Luwoge Consult, Obermeyer, Siemens, Viessmann, Wilo, Xella and Zehnder. The "International Conference on Green and Energy-Efficient Building & New Technologies and Products Expo" took place in Beijing from 28 to 30 March.

dena has joined forces with the ChinaContact magazine to prepare a special publication with further information on energy efficiency in China. The German-Chinese Working Group for the Promotion of Energy-Efficient Building in PR China was set up in 2006 and is supported by the construction ministries of both countries as well as by dena, the Center of Science and Technology of Construction (CSTC) and the Chinese Society for Urban Studies (CSUS). The CSTC and the CSUS report to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development.

dena is Germany's center of expertise for energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and smart energy systems. In China, dena arranges co-operation projects between partners from both countries with the aim of jointly adapting German know-how and technologies to the conditions prevalent in China and developing energy efficiency markets.