Cai Yingbo

CLEAN energy will be the city's primary power source in the future as it will help ease the energy shortage Shenzhen faces during its fast economic development, a seminar on clean energy was told yesterday.

"We will focus on clean energy as recycling economy is crucial to the city development," Liu Jin, deputy director general of Shenzhen Bureau of Science, Technology and Information, said at the Canada-China Clean Energy Seminar in Futian District.

He said clean energy, such as solar energy, is renewable. It is different from other traditional forms of energy like fossil fuels which come into being after millions of years.

Liu said clean energy is also environmentally friendly, and reduces the emission of carbon dioxide, which causes global warming, and other environment pollutants.

The city government will provide special subsidies to encourage more companies to engage in the research and development of clean energy. It will also set up a partnership with Ottawa Center for Research and Innovation (OCRI), an institution specializing in the field.

"We hope to define research, trade and investment partnerships that would establish Canadian innovation in renewable and alternative energy in China," said Michael Darch, executive director of OCRI, at the seminar.

The Shenzhen government has signed agreements on clean energy with Finland and Alberta Province in Canada.