China Renewable Energy Industry Report: Sept. 6

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Sept. 6 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Shenyang Jinshan Energy to install 25.5 megawatts of wind power in Liaoning
Chinese Shenyang Jinshan Energy Co Ltd said last month it would set up two subsidiaries to build 17 wind power facilities of 1.5-megawatt capacity each in Liaoning Province, northeastern China.

The units, Kangping Huadian Jinshan Wind Power and Zhangwu Huadian Jinshan Wind Power, will construct the power plants in the counties of Kangping and Zhangwu, Jinshan Energy said.

The company, engaged in wind and thermal power generation and supply of heat, also announced that it would dispose of its 80 percent interest in Huanren Jinshan Thermal Power.

Jinshan Energy posted a net profit of US$4.4 million for the first half of 2011, up 33.1 percent year-on-year. It generated 2.62 TWh of electricity for the period, up 41.5 percent on the year.

China Hydroelectric raises US$10 million in equity sale to Vicis Capital Master Fund
Hydropower plants operator China Hydroelectric Corp in August said it had sold 8.7 million common shares to its existing shareholder Vicis Capital Master Fund (Vicis), raising US$10 million in gross proceeds.

China Hydroelectric said the sale provides capital, strengthens its shareholder base and reduces the number of remaining warrants.

U.S. asset manager Vicis bought the shares for US$1.15 apiece, partially exercising its existing warrant to buy up to 18.7 million common shares in China Hydroelectric. The price equaled a 25-day average closing price of the company’s American depository shares (ADSs) by August 17, 2011, compared to the initial warrant exercise price of US$5 apiece. Each ADS represents three common shares.

The exercise price of the outstanding warrant was cut to US$1.15 per ordinary share from US$5 as well, and its expiry date was extended to December 31, 2013, from November 10, 2011.

ReneSola to buy back US$100 million of shares
Chinese photovoltaics-maker ReneSola Ltd said on August 22 its board of directors had okayed the launch of a share buyback plan for up to US$100 million of its common shares.

The company considers its shares currently undervalued and thinks the share repurchase would generate value to shareholders, ReneSola’s CEO, Xianshou Li, said.

The plan envisages the company occasionally, for a limited period of time, depending on market conditions, to make one or more share repurchases in the open market or through private transactions.

China Energy Recovery gets US$9.9 million heat recovery system order in China
China Energy Recovery (CER) has won a US$9.9-million waste heat recovery system order from Chinese Beijing Guodian Longyuan Environmental Engineering Co Ltd., CER said on August 22.

The contract envisages CER to design and install the acid making heat recovery system for an organic amine flue gas desulfurization project in Guizhou Province. The system will have a capacity to produce 17.8 tons of steam and 43.75 tons of sulfuric acid per hour.

Completion of the system is slated for the second quarter of 2012.

China Longyuan gets consent for 247.5 megawatt wind projects in China
Wind farm developer and operator China Longyuan Power Group Corp on August 22 said it had received clearance of five wind power projects with total capacity of 247.5 megawatts in the Chinese province of Jilin.

The Jilin Development and Reform Commission has approved the company’s Tongyu Xinglongshan 1A, 1B, 1C, 1F and Tongyu Xinfa A projects, all of which will be built in the Tongyu county, the company said.

China Longyuan, Tianjin Harbor to collaborate on offshore wind projects
China Longyuan Power Group Corp recently unveiled a strategic cooperation agreement with the regulatory commission of the Tianjin Harbor economic area for the development of offshore wind power projects.

The agreement is in line with the wind farm developer’s plan to expand its offshore wind power operations.

The Tianjin Harbor economic area is located in the downstream of several rivers. The river channels and banks are suitable for wind power installations with a good wind resource.

At the end of June, China Longyuan started work on a 150-megawatt intertidal demonstration offshore wind power project in Jiangsu Province in eastern China. The first 100-megawatt phase of the project is to come on stream in 2011, while the whole facility will be up and running in 2012.

China plans to bolster its installed offshore wind power capacity to 5 gigawatts by 2015 and to 30 gigawatts by 2020.

ADB to lend Shandong US$100 million for energy efficiency project
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a US$100 million loan for an energy efficiency project in China’s Shandong Province that will feature a solar parabolic concentrator system and other facilities.

The loan has a 15-year term with a grace period of 10 years.

The energy efficiency project, which will cost US$553.2 million, will take place from 2011 to 2016. The executing agency is the provincial government of Shandong.

Local company Golden Yimeng Group will use part of the funds provided by ADB for a biogas capturing facility that will produce power, heat and organic fertilizers. As part of the project, the company will build a 6-megawatt steam turbine that will use the steam produced by a number of solar parabolic concentrators.

At the same time, Chinese copper producer Dongying Lufang Metallic Materials will use part of the ADB loan to back the construction of a zero-coal copper ore smelting furnace.

Shandong Province ranks second in terms of industrial output among Chinese provinces. It relies heavily on fossil fuels for power generation.

Daqo New Energy to double polysilicon capacity at Wanzhou plant
Chinese polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy Corp recently unveiled a plan to more than double the polysilicon capacity of its factory in Wanzhou through the adoption of a new production technology.

The US$135 million project is to bolster the plant’s polysilicon capacity to 9,000 tons from 4,300 tons at present.

Daqo intends to adopt hydrochlorination technology for the conversion of silicon tetrachloride (STC) into trichlorosilane (TCS). The move will increase the factory’s TCS production capability to 220,000 tons a year. The company will also retrofit its hydrogenation furnaces into TCS deposition ones.

Work on the project is planned to start in October this year and to be completed in the third quarter of 2012, Daqo said.

China Suntien registers three wind farm projects under CDM
China Suntien Green Energy said on August 31 it had registered with the clean development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto protocol three wind power projects with a combined capacity of 148.3 megawatts.

The projects include the 49.5-megawatt Yuxian wind farm phase II, 49.3-megawatt Yuxian wind farm phase III and the 49.5-megawatt Yuxian Dongdianziliang wind farm phase I.

The company estimates that the registration will bring some RMB10 million (US$1.6 million) in additional annual revenues in 2011 and about CNY29 million (US$4.52 million) in 2012.

To date, China Suntien has 12 projects registered with the CDM executive board.

China to lift its 2015 green energy targets
Seeking to trim its reliance upon fossil fuels, China is planning to bolster its renewable energy targets for 2015, China Securities Journal said last week.

According to the report, a new government plan envisages 100 gigawatts of grid-connected wind power capacity, up from an earlier goal of 90 gigawatts. The country also aims to reach annual wind power output of 190 billion kWh.

Earlier this summer Han Wenke, head of energy research at the National Development & Reform Commission, announced that China will seek to source 20 percent of its energy mix from renewables and nuclear power by 2030. At the end of 2009, solar, wind, hydro, nuclear and other non-fossils brought 9.6 percent of the Asian country’s energy consumption.

China Energy Recovery agrees to two loans worth US$7 million
China Energy Recovery (CER) said on September 2 it had secured two loan facilities for a total of US$7 million, seeking funds to support its working capital.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd has agreed to lend the company US$2.5 million. The loan bears interest at 3.26939 percent a year and matures in 90 days.

The other loan of US$4.5 million was provided by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. It carries an interest of 7.544 percent per year and has a term of 9 months.

Both credit facilities are secured by mortgages on CER buildings.

China Longyuan gets nod for 49.5-megawatt wind project in Heilongjiang
China Longyuan Power Group Corp has received the go-ahead from the Heilongjiang Development and Reform Commission for a proposed 49.5-megawatt wind power project.

The Heilongjiang Xiaoheishan wind farm will be located in the city of Heihe, the wind farm developer and operator said last week.

Earlier this month, the company turned on the switch of its 49.5-megawatt Tianjin Dagangqu Mapengkou wind power plant in Tianjin.

At the end of June, Longyuan Power had an installed capacity of 8,829 megawatts, including wind power capacity of 6,894 megawatts. It booked a net profit of RMB1.41 billion (US$221 million) for the first half of 2011, 66.5 percent more than a year earlier.

China Sunergy introduces 10-year solar module warranty
Chinese solar equipment manufacturer China Sunergy said on September 2 that it was extending to 10 years its warranty for solar modules.

The extension doubles the previous term of five years and applies to all of the company’s standard photovoltaic solar module products sold after August 10, 2011. The warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship.

The company also offers a power warranty, whereby it undertakes to repair or replace any modules that undershoot the promised minimum power output by a certain margin on the 12th, 20th and 25th year.

China Sunergy this year aims to boost its production capacity for solar cells to around 750 megawatts from 400 megawatts in December 2010, and that for solar modules to 1.2 gigawatts from 480 megawatts.

Hyundai Heavy to set up wind turbine plant in China
South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) plans to open a wind turbine manufacturing plant in China, wind energy industry magazine Windpower Monthly reported last week.

The company expects to put online the plant in Shandong Province in October and to generate US$50 million in revenue in the first year of operation and US$300 million annually by 2015.

The magazine cited Kim Kwean Tae, in charge of Hyundai’s low-carbon business, as saying that the company may also expand its solar power operations through acquisitions.

This industry report brief is courtesy of AII Data Processing.

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