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PoliticaleEconomic Governance of Renewable Chapter j 4 81

Additionally the results, such as with the renewable energy companies like
wind and solar industries, were that all the ancillary supporting businesses also
needed to support the companies from mechanics, software, plumbing, and
electricity to installation, repair and maintenance, and other areas. Supporting
industries were also needed such as law, economics, accounting, and planning,
especially since the Chinese government began to create sustainable com-
munities that required all these skill sets (Clark, 2009, 2010). Hence these
businesses grew and became located in China.
However, the Chinese social capitalism model is not rigid with the gov-
ernment owning controlling percentage (over 50%) of a company. Many
businesses were started by the Chinese government with its holding of 25%
e33% of shares, whereas other firms were owned by the former government
employees, until the companies went public (Li and Clark, 2009). Yet in
almost all cases, the companies are competitive globally and are performing
remarkably well as demonstrated again in the renewable energy sector where
in early 2011, SunTech, a China-based publically traded company, became the
world’s largest manufacturer and seller of solar panels (Chan, 2011). Ac-
cording to a press release by the company in February 2011, it has delivered
more than 13 million PV panels to customers in more than 80 countries.
Today China is a (if not the) world leader in wind energy production and
manufacturing with over 3000 MW installed in China alone (Vestas, 2011).
The Chinese are now following a similar business model in the solar industry
(Martinot and Droege, 2007e2010). As such, China and Inner Mongolia
(IMAR) have contracted Vestas to install 50 MW in IMAR (Vestas, 2011),
according to a report from the Asian Development Bank (Clark and Isher-
wood, 2008, 2010), which argues for targeted needs to:

l Create international collaborations between universities and industry
l Conduct research and development of renewable energy technologies
l Build and operate science parks to commercialize new technologies into
businesses
l Provide and promote international exchanges and partnerships in public
education, government, and private sector businesses
The end results for the European Union are smart homes and communities.
The GIR starts in the home so that energy efficiency and conservation are a
significant part of everyone’s daily life. The home is the place to start.
However, it is also the place to start with the other elements of the GIR, such
as renewable energy generation, storage devices, smart green communities,
and new fuel sources for the home and transportation.

Costs, Finances, and Return on Investment

Government policy(s) and finance are critical for economic growth especially
concerning the environment and climate change. The basis of the GIR in the