China's Oil Thirst Could Push It Toward Fuel Efficiency; Eye On Solar And Wind; Nonprofit organization aims to help government set up policies, standards.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)

Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA

Oil-thirsty China will have more cars on the road than the U.S. by 2030. By then, it might well have nosed out the U.S. as the biggest importer of crude.

Bryant Tong, managing director of privately held Nth Power, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that invests in energy and tech firms, says China's hunger for oil and other fuels is making its officials aware they need better ways to use and monitor energy.

Tong doubles as chairman and president of the nonprofit China/U.S. Energy Efficiency Alliance, a board that advises Chinese officials on how to use energy more efficiently.

The Chinese worry about being too dependent on foreign energy. Tong says getting China to adopt energy-efficient practices could help head off a global oil crunch that almost surely will occur as supply fails to meet demand this century.

Nuclear power will help, Tong says. A Chinese official said last month that China is poised to operate the world's first viable "pebble bed" nuclear reactor. Experts say such reactors offer a meltdown-proof alternative to water-cooled nuke power plants.

The Chinese also are keen on wind and solar power and generating electricity from agricultural waste and coal. U.S.-type energy conservation programs that provide incentives to reduce energy use also interests China, says Tong, who recently spoke with IBD about this issue.