Feed-in Tariff (FiT)

FAQ

Frequency Asked Questions

1)	What is the difference between renewable energy(RE) and sustainable energy?
Ans:	Sustainable energy sources are energy sources which are not expected to be depleted in a timeframe relevant to the human race. Sustainable energy sources therefore include RE sources and nuclear power, even though there is controversy over whether or not the latter should be regarded as sustainable for social and political reasons.

2)	What is the difference between RE and clean energy?
Ans:	RE also falls into the category of clean energy. Although there is no universal definition of clean energy, clean energy may include natural gas and other clean energy supply options like highly efficient combined heat and power, and energy efficiency. Green energy, on the other hand, often means the same as RE.

3)	Which RE resources have potentials for exploitation in Hong Kong?
Ans:	According to Electrical and Mechanical Services Department's Study on the Potential Applications of RE in Hong Kong, solar energy, wind energy, and waste-to-energy have potentials for exploitation in Hong Kong. It should be noted that there are constraints on the exploitation of these RE resources, such as land constraints as well as cost and public acceptance issues.

4)	What is the target for the use of RE in Hong Kong?
Ans:	According to the "Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2050", we are committed to increase the share of renewable energy in the fuel mix for electricity generation to 7.5% to 10% by 2035, and our goal is to increase to 15% before 2050.

5)	Can RE replace a major portion of conventional power generation in Hong Kong?
Ans:	Due to the lack of large-scale RE resources like hydro and geothermal, and due to land constraints for the exploitation of solar energy and wind energy, there are limitations to the large-scale exploitation of RE in Hong Kong.

6)	Is the cost of electricity of RE power generation comparable to conventional power generation?
Ans:	For places with good RE resources, the cost of electricity of hydro, geothermal and wind power generation are comparable to conventional power generation. At the present moment, the cost of electricity from solar energy generation system is still higher than that of conventional power generation. However, such kind of comparison is not altogether fair to solar energy, because the "environmental externality costs" of conventional power generation has not been taken into account.

7)	RE resources such as solar energy and wind energy are often fluctuating and intermittent. Are they unreliable sources of energy?
Ans:	Solar energy and wind energy are intermittent in nature. However, solar energy and wind energy can serve as a reliable source of power when energy storage devices such as batteries are used to store up the energy. Alternatively, solar or wind energy systems can operate in a grid-connected manner, with the grid serving to supplement the fluctuations in the output of such systems.

8)	The manufacturing of RE equipment consumes energy. Can RE equipment produce enough energy to cover the energy used for its production?
Ans:	RE equipment like solar panels and wind turbines usually has a service life of over 20 years. During their lifetime, they can produce an amount of energy much greater than that needed to cover the energy used for their production. Take polycrystalline photovoltaic module as an example, according to a report by the Department of Science, Technology and Society of the Utrecht University in the Netherlands, the energy pay-back period of a frameless module is estimated to be between 1.3 years to 4.6 years under normal Dutch insolation conditions.