Solar power plants to spring up in China

[FarCenter]

10:23, January 11, 2009 http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90781/90879/6571746.html

Two large solar power plants will be built in the western plateau provinces of Qinghai and Yunnan in2009, with the expectation for China to cut domestic reliance on coal and oil.

The Qinghai project, a gigawatt-level solar station, will begin the first phase construction in 2009. The plant was funded by an initial investment of 1 billion yuan (about 146 million U.S. dollars). It could become the world's largest when completed, according to a recent joint statement of the developers. The NASDAQ-listed China Technology Development Group Corp. and the private-owned Qinghai New Energy Group are overseeing the design, construction, installation and operation of the station.

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Roughly a month ago, the southwestern Yunnan Province announced it would begin construction of a 166-megawatt solar plant with an investment of 9.1 billion yuan -- the largest in China at the time of the announcement.

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China is now the world's largest producer of solar heaters and the third largest manufacturer of photovoltaic cells, the National Development and Reform Commission (N.D.R.C.) statistics show. However, N.D.R.C. pointed out, China still lags far behind other countries in solar power generation due to the high cost, limited government subsidies and market access.

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"The cost of solar generation is still relatively high compared with the developed solar markets - Germany and Japan," said Charles Yonts, a solar and clean-tech analyst with the HK-based brokerage CLSA. "But, we will see costs come down rapidly as installers gain more experience," he added.

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[Joe the Liberal]

1. Good for China. nt

[pa28]

2. They are also in the middle an unprecedented wind power expansion.

China is an environmental disaster now but at least they are moving in the right direction.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKPEK27914820080626