A newly released roadmap document outlines a strategy for integrating renewable energy technologies into buildings in China’s Changjiang River (CJR) basin.  The region covers an area of 1.8 million km² with a population of over 500 million. It includes China's major industrial centres and generates 40% of the country's GDP. The region is also growing quickly, with 500 million m2 of new construction added each year.

The World Bank estimates that by 2015, half of the world’s new building construction will take place in China.  The nation’s eleventh five-year plan (2005-2010) aims for a 50% reduction in building energy consumption, and related new policy measures include energy efficiency (EE) standards and labeling for buildings.  But there is still a strong need for capacity-building in energy efficiency-oriented design and technology for the design and construction professionals who make new development happen on the ground.