, Columnist
On Climate, China Should Think Small
The real opportunity is in rooftop solar, not just renewable megaprojects.
Where the action is.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
It's a common sight in rural China: rows and rows of low-rise apartment buildings, often topped by solar water heaters the size of kitchen tables. By one estimate, 30 million Chinese households rely upon the devices for hot water. They’re served by 3,000 companies that sell around one million of the devices annually. Neither subsidies nor environmental guilt account for the sales, or for China's place as the renewable hot-water capital of the world. Folks in rural areas have been buying them for two decades because they're cheap to own and operate.