China Industry: July 2

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Jul. 2 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Air transport
Air Canada announced that it would double its capacity between Toronto and China beginning this autumn with the introduction of daily flights year-round to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

The new routes are in addition to the carrier’s year-round flights between Vancouver and those three cities.

The company’s announcement follows an agreement between China and Canada under which the Chinese government has granted Canada Approved Destination Status, making it easier for Chinese nationals to visit Canada.

Duncan Dee, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Air Canada, said that Canada’s new status as Approved Destination by the Chinese government opens significant opportunities for Air Canada to further build on its already extensive service to China and Asia.

Sheremetyevo International Airport said that Chinese air carries Hong Kong Airlines started today a regular service between Moscow and Hong Kong. The air carrier will fly these route three times a week: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Cathay Pacific will fly more often between Hong Kong and Jakarta from September 2. The air carrier will boost the number of its weekly flights from 14 to 22. Ida Silviana Bekti, a spokesperson of Cathay Pacific in Indonesia, said that the company will utilize Airbus A330-300 on its Hong Kong – Jakarta service from September 2.

Renewables
Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy has secured an order for 48.3 MW of turbines for an unnamed customer in China.

Suzlon will deliver 23 units of its 2.1 MW S88 turbines for a wind farm in Inner Mongolia. Shipments are scheduled to take place during the fiscal 2010/2011. The Indian manufacturer said this was the first order from the customer, which it described as “one of China’s five largest wind power producers.”

Suzlon is the world’s third largest wind power group based in India, where it employs more than 14,000 people.

In China, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Suzlon Energy (Tianjin) Limited has already signed up projects totaling 825 MW including almost 600 wind turbines. Suzlon is now expanding into other eastern Asian markets such as Korea, the Philippines and Thailand.

Chinese solar photovoltaic products maker CNPV Solar Power SA said today that it had inked a long-term sales contract with Greek Photon Hellas. Under the agreement, CNPV will supply Photon Hellas with a total 20 MWp of high performance PV modules from 2010 to 2012, which includes three MWp of scheduled delivery during the second half of this year. The remaining seven MWp and 10 MWp are scheduled for delivery in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Chinese photovoltaic products maker Trina Solar will supply PV modules for a 1.2 MW solar system which will be installed on the rooftops of four buildings of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

The Queensland Government is contributing a grant of AUD1.5 million towards the AUD7.75 million solar power project, which will be capable of producing 1,750 MWh of electricity a year.

The system will be developed by Australian renewable energy company Ingenero. The large-scale installation will be a resource for students to study the array’s performance and collaborate with Trina Solar as part of the university’s drive to help develop next-generation solar technologies.

Trina Solar also expects to work together with the University of Queensland on several solar technology research projects going forward.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) will build a solar cell factory in the Central Taiwan Science Park, said Rick Tsai, CEO of the company’s New Business division. TSMC will partner with U.S. solar panels producer Stion Corp. in the construction of the factory, which will manufacture copper indium gallium selenide-based thin-film solar cells. Particularly, Stion will trade its CIGS-based technology for the supply with solar cells.

Currently, TSMC is applying for a land plot of five hectares in the Central Taiwan Science Park, where the factory will be sited. Recently, the park’s administration gave it a permit to build a solar wafer factory on 18 hectares.

Founded in 1987, TSMC employs more than 20,000 people worldwide.
Stion has been manufacturing thin-film solar panels since its set-up in 2004.

Power giant China Huaneng Corp. has switched on the first 49.5 MW of a wind farm in Hami, Xinjiang, northwestern China. Huaneng’s Xinjiang Santanghu Wind Power Company has completed the first phase construction in December 2009.

Currently, the wind farm has 66 wind turbines of 750 kW each. They are projected to generate 130 million kWh of clean electricity a year, while saving 40,400 tons of coal and cutting 632 tons of carbon gases annually.

The second phase of the project is planned to start generation by late July. According to plans, that stage will absorb RMB400 million to install 33 more turbines of 1.5 MW each. China Huaneng Group is the parent company of Huaneng Power International.

In a bid to improve services for its European partners, Chinese solar maker Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. opened a representative office in Montbonnot, eastern France. The French solar market has become one of Suntech’s top three European markets since it set foot in the country in 2008.

The new office houses a solar product training center for distributors and installers to learn more about the advantages of the company’s product offerings. Additionally, Suntech professionals will provide hands-on installation training, particularly for the company’s Just Roof offering that aesthetically replaces traditional roofing materials with long-lasting solar panels.

The office will also be home to a technical customer support team with decades of local industry experience and is expected to grow in tandem with local market demand.

Speaking at the ribbon-cutting event, Frank Weber, marketing director for Suntech Europe, pointed that long-term growth in the booming French solar market will require steady commitment by the company and support from major industry players.

Chinese photovoltaic equipment manufacturer CNPV Solar Power SA said yesterday it inked a deal for the delivery of 46 MW of solar modules to French PV projects developer Inovasol by 2012.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CNPV will supply the modules in three phases. It will deliver modules with a total capacity of six megawatts in the second half of 2010. Another delivery of 15 MW capacity will follow in 2011 and the remainder of 25 MW will be shipped in 2012.

Founded in 2006, CNPV produces ingots, wafers, cells and solar modules. This is the company’s second supply contract within a week. The previous one was for 20 MW of solar modules, which CNPV will deliver to a Greek company by 2012.

Inovasol specialises in PV solar plants engineering, development, production, installation and distribution in France. The firm’s order backlog was worth US$28.2 million at the end of 2009.

Twin-blade wind turbine maker GC China Turbine Corp. announced it had won a deal to supply 50 turbines for the first phase of a 49.3 MW wind farm of Tianhe Wind Power Development Co. Ltd.

The turbine maker pegged the total contract price for the China Guodian Xilinguolemeng Tianhe Wind Farm in Inner Mongolia at RMB230 million although it was unclear if this included installation, operations and maintenance.

Shipments of the one-megawatt turbines are scheduled before September, with commercial operation of the wind farm expected before January 1, 2011.

GC China Turbine was founded in 2006 and has licensed turbine technology from Deltawind of Sweden. Its launch product was the one-megawatt utility-scale turbine, with two-megawatt and three-megawatt models under development.

This industry report brief is courtesy of Aii Data Processing.