In 2005, when word spread that a solar company was going to build a plant nearby, Li Chengxuan and the people in his village even held a celebration. This poor village in Luoyang City, Henan Province hoped the new neighbor would stimulate local economic development. But now, in stark contrast to that company's gleaming white office building, the nearby village remains desolate. About 9 months ago, the villagers discovered that a layer of white powder had settled on their crops, and the plants began to wither.
　　Soaring oil prices have forced people to focus on finding alternative energy sources, and the new energy industry has emerged precisely to meet this urgent demand. What is particularly noteworthy is: the government has repeatedly introduced policies to support the development of new energy in our country, and especially at the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party held last year, it was explicitly proposed that renewable energy should be vigorously developed. Renewable energy sources such as ethanol, biodiesel, and solar energy can reduce the world's dependence on petroleum, so investors pour billions of dollars into renewable energy every year. It is believed that, with favorable policies, the industrial scale of new energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass energy will continue to expand, and new energy enterprises with scale and resource advantages will have greater room for development. It is foreseeable that the new energy industry, which contains enormous wealth potential, is about to show a trend of rapid growth. According to estimates based on our country's development plan, the renewable energy industry will cultivate an emerging market worth nearly two trillion yuan within the next 15 years. Facing such a vast potential market, the future development of the new energy industry is undoubtedly bright.
　　However, developing these alternative energy sources may produce some unexpected consequences—these side effects may even offset the various benefits they can bring. The situation in Li Chengxuan's village is a vivid example. The first time Li Chengxuan saw trucks from the nearby factory hauling waste into their village, he could not believe what he saw: the trucks stopped between the cornfields and the elementary school playground, and barrels of white liquid with foam floating on top were dumped onto the ground before the trucks drove away. What made this farmer even more unable to believe it was that a certain high-tech company in Luoyang, the source of the pollution, was actually a green energy company, and the polysilicon it produced was used in a new energy product sold worldwide—solar panels. For several months, this scene occurred almost every day. What happened to this village points directly to the environmental problems arising from the global effort to solve the shortage of traditional fossil fuels: forests are destroyed to grow biofuels, but the loss of vast forest areas leads to climate change; dams are built for hydropower to replace thermal power plants, but this damages the aquatic ecosystems of river basins. In short, if new energy is developed without acting in accordance with environmental protection laws, it can likewise trigger a potential environmental crisis.
　　Data show that the world is facing a severe shortage of polysilicon materials, and over the past 5 years their price has risen from $20 per kilogram to $300. Chinese companies are rushing to fill this gap. Driven by large amounts of venture capital, along with generous conditions provided by the government eager to find clean alternative energy sources, more than 20 polysilicon manufacturers have begun building plants in China. The total production capacity of these new plants is expected to reach 80,000 tons~100,000 tons, nearly more than twice the current global output. However, the by-product of polysilicon production—silicon tetrachloride—is a highly toxic substance. Experts say that land used for dumping or burying silicon tetrachloride will become barren, where neither grass nor trees can grow, posing enormous potential danger. It is not only toxic, but also pollutes the environment. In addition, the front-end process of silicon cells involves diffusion furnaces, and if environmental protection facilities are not installed, acidic and alkaline gases will be discharged directly into the air. As industry experts have pointed out, no matter what kind of enterprise it is, as long as it produces, it must do so cleanly and protect the environment. Just because it is a new energy enterprise encouraged by the state, environmental investment must never be neglected; any enterprise must act in accordance with environmental protection laws.
　　Therefore, the author hopes that local government departments will make real efforts and take serious action in strengthening environmental governance, not only focusing on industrial restructuring and technological innovation, but also on environmental law enforcement; not only shutting down those enterprises that cause serious pollution, but also treating enterprises involved in new energy development equally, strictly controlling them, and not allowing their polluting behavior to go unchecked. It is necessary to thoroughly clean up local “earth policies” and strengthen environmental supervision, and those responsible for serious environmental violations should be held criminally liable. Only by fully and faithfully implementing the central government's environmental protection guidelines, policies, laws, and regulations in actual work can we continuously advance the building of a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society and achieve sound and rapid economic and social development.
　　>>>Viewpoints at a Glance>>>
　　At present, the utilization of renewable energy in our country, represented by small hydropower, wind energy, solar energy, and biomass energy, is still not large enough. Judging from the current momentum of renewable energy development in various regions and the planning targets set by the state, by 2020, this proportion may increase to 15％. If the state gives strong support in laws, supporting policies, and technological measures, then in the coming decades, our country's renewable energy sector can achieve even greater development.