The pervasive smog that shrouded all of northern China, including its capital of Beijing, from the beginning of this year, has alerted the country to its severe pollution. During the worst days, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 published by both China's Ministry of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing both went far beyond the normal safety index.

The excessive use of coal has been identified as the primary source of pollutants. Thermal power generation and use of (seasonal) central heating both consume more coal than that in other countries combined.

Solar energy, a clean energy that neither has geographical restrictions nor needs massive deployment to cover the investment, is most often the easiest to popularize, said Li Hejun, member of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, the country's top advisory body, in Beijing on Thursday.

He said once more people in northern China use solar energy, the dependence on coal will decline, which in turn will bring better air quality to places such as Beijing, blessed with ahigh latitude and dry climate, which results in longer illumination time -- a prerequisite for photovoltaic (PV) power generation.

According to Li's plans, every household could start its own PV generation, and the power will complement, if not entirely replace, a family's daily power use. The economies of scale will be seen in a cluster of such houses.

Li said he brought two proposals to the CPCCC this year, both regarding thin-film PV technology, in fact a major undertaking of his company Hanergy Holding. In his proposals, he expressed his hopes for the government to give more support to thin-film PV cells in both finance and technology as thin-film is the future of solar power application.

"Thin-film cells could be tailor-made into rooftop materials, curtains and tents as to generate enough electricity for the people inside," Li said.

Compared with crystalline silicon, thin-film energy holds advantages in lower cost and higher efficiency. Hanergy's thin-film cells have achieved a proficiency rate of 15.5 percent, already on par with that of crystalline silicon.

"The figure will reportedly rise to 17 percent by late next year, whereas crystalline silicon is a matured industry and has little room for technological advancement," Li said.

The United States and the EU have launched several ant-dumping and countervailing investigations into China's exported PV products. But Li noted "those probes all targeted crystalline silicon manufacturers," whereas "Thin-film cell makers like Hanergy always remained untouched."

Developing the PV industry could help China with its national energy security; whilst at the same time contribute to the "Beautiful China" project. "But before building a beautiful China, we need to deal with the Beijing smog right now," he added, reiterating his membership of the CPPCC.

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