China Industry: Jan. 19

Posted by Reading Time: 5 minutes

Jan. 19 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Solar power
Chinese photovoltaics maker Yingli Green Energy Holding will supply a total of 30 MW of its solar modules to Spain.Yingli has secured five sales agreements with unnamed Spanish customers to deliver the shipments in the first half of the year.

The equipment will be deployed on ground-mounted power plants and commercial-scale rooftop installations. The Spanish solar power market has enjoyed burgeoning growth over the past years. But after the credit crunch hit and the government scaled back lavish subsidies, Spain is expected to relinquish the world top spot to Germany in 2009.

Chinese silicon ingots, photovoltaic cells and modules maker, Solarfun Power Holdings announced that its wholly-owned unit Jiangsu Linyang Solarfun has clinched three deals to supply a total 12.65 MW of PV modules to projects in China.

The first agreement was with Xuzhou Xie Xin PV Power to supply 10 MW of PV modules for a project in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The modules were delivered during the fourth quarter of 2009.

The other two contracts totaling 2.65 MW are for a government funded project in Anhui Province. Solarfun said it was one of the four companies that won the bid to participate in the 15 MW project funded by Anhui Province. The modules are expected to be delivered during 2010. The project is subject to government approvals and financing.

U.S. solar thermal power technology startup eSolar Inc and Chinese electrical power equipment maker Penglai Electric have entered into a deal to build at least 2 GW of solar thermal power plants in China over the next 10 years.

The groundbreaking of the first 92 MW will take place this year with the China Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy owning and operating their first joint plant. Construction will be led by China Huadian Engineering.

Overall, Penglai Electric plans to roll out 2 GW of solar thermal power plants co-located with biomass electricity generation facilities by 2021. All of them will feature eSolar’s solar thermal technology. In total, the plants are projected to prevent 15 million tons in annual emissions of carbon dioxide.

The latest deal between eSolar and Penglai Electric marks the first major move into concentrating solar thermal power in China, committed to generate 15 percent of the electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

China-based CNPV Solar Power SA said it has inaugurated two ground-mounted photovoltaic systems in the Czech Republic with a total capacity of 3.1 MWp.

The 2 MWp installation, located in Kosorin, and the 1.1 MWp system in Malsice Cenkov were erected at the cost EUR11 million with financing provided by Unicredit Leasing and Volksbank respectively.

Operating since December 2009, both arrays were developed for individual investors by CNPV’s local strategic partner Stand-By Europe, a project developer and distribution company.

All together, the PV systems are projected to produce over 2.7 GWh each year, sufficient to power around 1,100 homes, while avoiding near 3.2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Chinese photovoltaic products manufacturer ET Solar Group has completed a 1.48 MW ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant in the Paehl region, southern Germany.

ET Solar Group had been working on the project as an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for Cologne-based renewables-focused investment trust Wattner AG, a sole equity investor in the project via its publicly raised SunAsset fund.

The facility was financed by a syndicate of two regional German savings banks. With a 30-year life span, it is projected to generate around 32 million kWh of electricity over the subsidized 20-year period, while reducing almost 20,000 tons of carbon emissions.

Hong Kong-based solar power company GCL-Poly Energy announced that it would acquire 70.19 percent in Konca Solar paying RMB854 million for the stake.

The company has signed the acquisition agreement with its Chinese target, which is active in the development and production of crystal silicon solar cells, semiconductor crystal silicon wafers, cell wafers and other solar power generation solutions and components.

The acquisition is considered to strengthen GCL-Poly Energy’s customer service and competitiveness both locally and abroad.

A group of representatives of Chinese clean energy companies visited Brazil’s southeastern Santa Catarina state looking for wind projects.
The executives met with the state’s governor, Luiz Henrique, who affirmed that Santa Catarina is interested in supporting projects for production of energy from alternative sources like wind.

Among the executives were Chen Yun, vice president of CSI Solar, considered one of China’s biggest companies for solar energy generation, and Yang Jiafeng, vice president of China Guodian Corporation.

Chinese photovoltaic cells and modules maker Suntech Power Holdings said that it had completed two solar power installations, with a combined capacity of 3.12 MW, for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

The installations, integrated into the pavilions, are expected to generate 2.8 million kWh of electricity and displace 2,500 tons of carbon emissions per year. Both building-integrated solar systems were ordered by Shanghai-based energy company Shenergy Group.

Wuxi-headquartered Suntech has already completed a range of technically complex solar power projects including the 120 kW Beijing Jingya Hotel curtain wall, an 800 kW system at the Wuxi Airport and the 1 MW BIPV facade at its new headquarters. Furthermore, the company has recently commissioned a 10 MW utility-scale solar power project in Shizuishan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Chinese photovoltaics maker Yingli Green Energy Holding said it had secured a US$4.5 million tax credit for its 100 MW solar module factory in the United States. The credit was approved by the U.S. Treasury Department as part of the Recovery Act Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit program, introduced to encourage the development of clean and renewable energy projects with American-made parts and equipment.

The company disclosed that it is currently evaluating several potential sites for its planned module manufacturing facility, serving also as Yingli’s North American headquarters for operations and R&D.

Chinese polysilicon maker Daqo New Energy, a unit of Daqo Group, filed for an initial public offering hoping to raise up to US$108 million.
The company plans to list on the NYSE under the DQ ticker as it expects to sell 6.5 million American depositary shares at a price ranging from US$12.50 to US$14.50 each.

The net proceeds of around US$78.2 million will be used as working capital and for the expansion of Daqo’s polysilicon manufacturing facilities, operating since July 2008.

The Chongqing-based venture also plans to begin solar panel module manufacturing, system integration and installation.

Chinese multicrystalline solar wafers manufacturer LDK Solar said the underwriters have exercised their over-allotment option in a recent public offering of LDK’s American Depositary Shares.

Morgan Stanley and Citi bought 1,645,900 American Depositary Shares under the over-allotment option. The price was US$7 each. Earlier, LDK Solar offered 16.5 million ADSs. The exercise of the over-allotment option brings the total number of ADSs sold in the follow-on offering to 18,165,900 and the aggregate net proceeds to approximately US$122.1 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by LDK Solar.

This industry report brief is courtesy of Aii Data Processing.