Institution and Capacity Building
The success of our work in China relies heavily on cooperation with a wide range of organizations and groups, each of which bring something different to the table. Our funding support, for example, has long been a mix of US Government and private foundation sources. In China, we primarily work with government offices or research centers on efficiency projects that in turn are provided to the central government for approval and implementation. At the same time, our research and analysis directly informs US government agencies and has supported bilateral US-China energy agreements such as those implemented through DOE. Our research teams often involve experts from other departments or divisions of the lab, other laboratories, academic institutions, NGOs, and international organizations such as UNDP, GEF, and others.
A large component of our activities is training of our Chinese counterparts, and much of it happens at the Lab. In the last 9 years, we've recorded 246 person-weeks in total of training, of 145 Chinese personnel, not to mention the 228 person-weeks of training inside China, primarily for the motors systems optimization work. In addition to training, the time spent at the Lab has also helped us create close ties with our counterparts, improves their understanding of the overall working of the lab and efficiency work in the US, and opens the door to further work in China.
Some of our most important work has been to strengthen institutional capabilities in China.
In 1993, LBNL helped China to establish a vital new, market-oriented organization to promote energy efficiency: the Beijing Energy Efficiency Center (BECon). BeCon links China and the outside world, providing energy consulting and marketing services to businesses and others. BECon has helped initiate China's Green Lights Program—which promotes the manufacture and use of efficient lights—and a major GEF project to build a commercial energy-efficiency industry in China.
LBNL's Capacity Building Activities and Partners
