Date of Award

6-2016

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Bradley G. Lewis

Second Advisor

Megan Ferry

Abstract

Due to years of serving as the world’s manufacturing hub, and appropriately developing a global reputation of being environmentally-unfriendly, China has since sought to rejuvenate its image by becoming an international leader in the realm of wind power. However, if one were to pull back the curtain on China’s wind energy program,they would find that the Chinese Communist Party may be intentionally putting on a facade. By reporting the number of wind turbines constructed nationally, but not the number of turbines actually generating electricity, China has hoodwinked the worldwide energy sector and general public. The idle wind turbines cost China not only valuable energy, but also roughly $2 Billion annually in forgone revenue. In order to achieve wind success, China must deal first with its most significant bottleneck: an outdated and inefficient energy grid infrastructure. By choosing to build wind turbines before constructing a Smart Grid to support their energy transmission, China has shot itself in the foot environmentally, geopolitically, and economically. This thesis exposes an important defect in China’s energy system and will be of use to all with interests in business ethics, the environment, engineering, and economists alike.

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