China Renewable Energy Industry Report: Oct. 10

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Oct. 10 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

NCKU, Taiwan Generations venture into offshore wind power
The National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), the Metal Industries Research and Development Center and Taiwan Generations Corp have joined hands on an offshore wind power project of up to 200-megawatt capacity.

The partners intend to build an offshore wind farm off Taiwan that would be capable to produce around 640 million kWh of power a year, the university said. The targeted output would be enough to meet the electricity needs of 130,000 local households.

For the past decade, Taiwan Generations has built some 20 onshore wind power plants with a combined capacity of 400 megawatts.

NDRC gives nod to SDIC Huajing Power, Chuantou Energy’s share offerings
China’s National Development and Reform Commission said it has given the green light to the planned share issues of SDIC Huajing Power Holdings and Sichuan Chuantou Energy.

Chuantou Energy intends to sell up to 163 million shares for proceeds of as much as RMB2.2 billion (US$344 millin), while Huajing Power is targeting up to RMB2.8 billion (US$439 million) from the sale of nearly 350 million shares.

Both companies will inject a portion of the raised amounts into their joint venture Ertan Hydropower Development. The joint venture is 48 percent owned by Chuantou Energy, while the rest is in the hands of Huajing Power. In mid-June, the two companies agreed to pour together RMB4.5 billion (US$705 million) in Ertan in line with their respective stakes.

Ertan owns the exclusive development rights of the Yalong River, whose generation capacity is estimated at 154 TW. By 2025, the company plans to have an installed capacity of 30 gigawatts.

Renewable Energy Asia forms solar power subsidiary in China
On Sept. 27, Hong Kong-based Renewable Energy Asia Group Ltd said it had set up a wholly-owned unit in China to build and operate several solar power projects near the city of Jiuquan in Gansu Province.

The subsidiary, Renewable Energy Asia Solar Power (Jiuquan) Co Ltd, has paid-up capital of RMB5 million (US$781,000). Its establishment is not expected to have any effect on the consolidated net tangible assets and earnings per share of Renewable Energy Asia Group in fiscal 2011/12 ending March 31.

Renewable Energy Asia’s activities are focused on wind farm development and manufacturing of steel equipment for the wind power sector.

JinkoSolar to supply 38 megawatts of photovoltaic modules for two projects in China
Chinese solar product maker JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd on Sept. 28 said it had won a bid to deliver 38 megawatts of modules for two photovoltaic projects in China developed by China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Development Co Ltd.

Earlier this week, Jinko has signed the supply contract for 18 megawatts of photovoltaic modules for one of the projects – a solar park near Dunhuang in Gansu Province. The first delivery is scheduled for October 25.

The company and Guangdong Nuclear are yet to sign a separate agreement for another 20-megawatt photovoltaic project in Qinghe county in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

Both projects are part of a larger 128-megawatt ground-mounted solar complex stretching across China’s western provinces.

LDK Solar completes third polysilicon train at Mahong plant
Chinese photovoltaic products maker LDK Solar Co., Ltd. announced on Sept. 28 that it had completed a third production train at its Mahong polysilicon plant.

The new train has a capacity of 5,000 metric tons and with it the plant has now reached its originally planned total annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons.

LDK Solar expects the train to achieve full capacity production towards the end of this year.

The company said that at the moment its overall annual polysilicon production capacity across its Mahong and Xiacun facilities stands at 17,000 metric tons. It expects that to reach 25,000 metric tons by the middle of 2012.

China Longyuan gets green light for 49.5-megawatt wind project in Jilin
Wind farm developer and operator China Longyuan Power Group Corp on Sept. 29 announced that it had received approval to build a 49.5-megawatt wind farm in Tongyu county, in China’s northeastern province of Jilin.

Approval was granted by the Jilin Development and Reform Commission. The company did not provide further details.

For the eight months through August, China Longyuan produced 16,592,970 MWh of power, up 20.48 percent in annual terms. A total of 8,520,764 MWh came from the wind power segment.

China Longyuan registers 448.5 megawatts of wind power capacity under CDM
Wind farm developer China Longyuan Power Group Co Ltd announced that it had successfully registered under the clean development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto protocol six wind farm projects with a total capacity of 448.5 megawatts.

Since the start of 2011, the company has registered 31 CDM projects with a combined capacity of 1,978 megawatts. China Longyuan now operates 86 CDM wind installations with 4,832 megawatts in combined capacity.

China Suntien registers 98.8 megawatts of wind power capacity under CDM
China Suntien Green Energy on Sept. 30 said it had registered with the clean development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto protocol two wind farm projects with a total capacity of 98.8 megawatts.

The projects include the 49.3-megawatt Chongli Jiaocheshan wind farm and the 49.5-megawatt Zhangbei Daxishan facility. With these, the company now has 14 wind projects registered with the CDM executive board.

China Suntien is engaged in the operation of wind power facilities and the retail and distribution of natural gas.

Sinohydro pockets US$2.1 billion in IPO
Sinohydro Group, China’s biggest dam builder, collected RMB13.5 billion (US$2.11 billion) via its initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange after pricing the shares at the bottom of the range.

The company said in a statement on Sept. 29 that it sold 3 billion shares at RMB4.50 (US$0.705), compared with an indicative range of between RMB4.50 and RMB4.80.

In the face of weak markets, Sinohydro on Sept. 26 reduced the size of the offering from the 3.5 billion shares it had planned to sell initially.

The company has said it would use the proceeds to help fund new projects.

Sichuan Guangan to buy 90 percent in Xinjiang Fuyuan Energy
Chinese utility Sichuan Guangan AAA Public Co Ltd intends to purchase a 90 percent interest in hydropower plants operator Xinjiang Fuyuan Energy Development, Chinese news source stcn.com reported.

Fuyuan Energy owns the Hadebute and Shuanghongshan quake-resistant hydroelectric stations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. According to Guangan, the cost per kWh of hydropower in the region is around RMB0.25 (US$0.039).

The Hadebute and Shuanghongshan facilities are located in the Altay region where demand for power is high due to extensive mining and metallurgical activity.

A-Sun rolls out 300-watt solar modules
Solar power solutions developer A-Sun, a unit of Hong Kong-based Aton Energy Ltd, unveiled a new range of solar modules with a capacity of 300 watts.

The modules join the company’s existing lines of mono- and polycrystalline modules with capacities of 190 watts to 250 watts.

All A-Sun solar modules are certified under the UK’s microgeneration certification scheme, allowing for projects built with them to qualify for UK solar feed-in tariffs. According to the company’s calculations, the modules have an efficiency of nearly 19 percent.

Taiwan Power puts in operation 5.92 megawatt solar plant
State-owned electric utility Taiwan Power Co has put in operation a 5.92 megawatt solar power plant in the southwestern part of the country, news portal Taiwan Today reports citing unnamed officials from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The TW$640 million (US$20.9 million) solar plant was opened on October 1, after an 18-month construction period. The facility includes 16,000 solar panels, which are expected to produce enough electricity to supply 1,600 homes and save 3,623 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, according to the ministry officials.

The solar plant is the largest one in the country for now and will help Taiwan Power achieve its target of installing 10 megawatts of solar power capacity by the end of the year, the web site added, citing the officials.

Taiwanese Tainergy, GCL-Poly form solar power alliance
Taiwanese solar cell maker Tainergy Tech Co, Hong Kong GCL-Poly Energy and industrial materials firm Wah Lee Industrial have joined hands on solar module contract manufacturing and sales, The China Post said on October 7.

The collaboration agreement will support Tainergy’s plans to expand its operations in China. The alliance will benefit from Tainergy’s full automation systems and solar cell production lines and GCL-Poly’s expertise in building and maintaining solar photovoltaic power plants, the newspaper added.

JinkoSolar to re-open photovoltaic cell factory in China next week
Chinese JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd will resume operations at its photovoltaic cells factory in Haining, in China’s Zhejiang Province, on October 10, marketing chief Arturo Herrero has told green energy news portal Recharge.

The company temporarily shut down the plant three weeks ago due to a pollution incident that sparked protests by local residents.

According to JinkoSolar, fluoride was released into a nearby river after heavy rains. But investigations into the incident have concluded that current fluoride levels are undetectable in the water, and that the company’s operations meet environmental requirements and can be restarted, Recharge said.

JinkoSolar said the closure did not affect significantly its operations and it would meet its 2011 targets.

CLP Holdings opens 330-megawatt hydropower plant in China
Hong Kong-based electricity producer CLP Holdings announced on October 6 the opening of its-330 megawatt Jiangbian hydropower plant in China’s Sichuan Province.

The company started the project in 2007 and completed it ahead of schedule in June this year. The hydropower plant is expected to have annual electricity output of 1.455 million kWh which will be fed into Sichuan’s electricity grid.

CLP aims to produce 30 percent of its electricity from clean energy projects, of which 20 percent are to be from renewables, by 2020.

CLP Group owns stakes in some 60 renewable energy projects in Australia, China, India and Thailand. The group’s renewable energy generation portfolio has a total capacity of 2.4 gigwatts and accounts for some 18 percent of its total energy production capacity.

This industry report brief is courtesy of AII Data Processing.

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