China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be releasing a new energy policy, according to LED industry sources. Starting from Nov. 2013, bids for China streetlight construction projects will be divided into three phases. Most of the projects are aimed at second tier and third tier cities. Scale of the new project is expected to be three times larger than the first phase of more than 100,000 street lights in 10 cities. Due to the new LED street light bid specifications, Taiwanese LED manufacturers including Everlight, Delta Electronics, and Leotek that that already have street light bids in Taiwan received quality recognition for their products.

Compared to past bids, the street light specs this time has made it mandatory that products and components be certified by the China Quality Certification Center (CQC) and China Compulsory Certification (CCC).

In general, the ministry usually publishes solar energy policies first in the energy saving policy announcements. Earlier, the ministry had announced that no further expansions will be made on its solar energy tax reduction plans. Semiconductor lighting (LED) was announced next

An overview of China’s green energy policy shows the “Ten Cities, Ten Thousand Lights Project” was a failure. A closer inspection reveals lack of LED standards and low-price competitions lead to low quality lights. In comparison, Taiwanese manufacturers LED light quality is better, and has a chance to stand out under the new policy.