Renewable Energy Development in East China

Purpose of Review: The story of sustainable energies has long been narrated in the context of advanced economies. Many pioneering European states, for instance, have admittedly set examples for the followers in the renewable energy sector. However, in recent years, due to a series of regulations and plans formulated by both of the central and local Chinese states, the rapid expansion of renewable energy has obtained certain positive outcomes and passes beyond Europe in a number of renewable energy fields. Summary: The goal of this paper is to review the recent academic contributions by focusing on how the assemble of state managers, business practitioners and manufacturing entrepreneurs in eastern market of China has enabled the rapid growth of the non-hydro renewable energy sector. To provide a more comprehensive understanding of the regional development of the sector, the potential barriers and commercial challenges that hindered the future growth of the offshore wind power and distributed solar energy will also be investigated. © 2017, Springer International Publishing AG.