Friday, February 6, 2009

China to build a 10 MW solar PV power plant in Dunhuang

BEIJING, Feb 05, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- On March 20, China's economic planner, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), will unveil who wins the bid for constructing a 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation plant in Dunhuang of Northwest China's Gansu Province.

"By now, 38 enterprises have joined the bidding for the construction job including one from Denmark, one from Germany and 36 domestic ones," said Zhao Pingqian, an official with Dunhuang's development and reform commission.

Chinese bidders include China Power Investment Corporation, China Huaneng Group, China Guodian Corporation, China Datang Corporation, China Huadian Corporation and Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (STP.NYSE), according to Zhao.

Covering one million square meters, the solar PV power plant involves a total investment of 500 million yuan and will generate on average 16.37 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.

Zhao said, "Bidders paid a visit to the building site in mid January and a briefing is expected to be held in February."

The bid winners are obligated to complete the construction of the solar PV power plant within 18 months and are franchised to operate the project for 25 years, according to NDRC.

Statistics show that China has only approved three solar PV power generation projects, including one 1-MW project on Shanghai's Chongming Island and one 225-KW project in Ordos of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

China To Invest $85 Billion In Energy Sector

February 4, 2009

Chinese state media announced Wednesday the country would invest 580 billion yuan ($85 billion) to expand its energy industry in 2009, including investment in nuclear and wind-powered capacity.

State-owned power companies are increasing their investments to meet growing demand and boost economic growth. In addition to increased investment in coal-fired generation, plans call for spending on wind, nuclear and solar power, according to Chinese state television.

China will build eight more nuclear plants with a total of 16 reactors over the next three years, according to the China Daily newspaper.

The country has 11 nuclear reactors supplying about 1% of its power, and Beijing wants to raise that share to 5%, said the newspaper.

Source: http://www.cleantechbrief.com

Yingli Green Energy Appoints New Chief Technology Officer

BAODING, China, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE) (''Yingli Green Energy'' or the ''Company''), one of the world's leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (''PV'') product manufacturers, today announced the appointment of Dr. Dengyuan Song to the position of Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Song will oversee Yingli Green Energy's research and development initiatives, particularly the development of state-of-the-art and cost-competitive PV products as an integral part of the Company's overall business strategies. Dr. Song will replace Dr. Guoxiao Yao, who has resigned to pursue other interests.

Dr. Song has more than 27 years of experience in the research and development of solar cells, silicon materials, and semiconductor PV devices in both Australia and China, including nearly 10 years of research and development in silicon-based solar cells, polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells and third-generation solar cells at the ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Prior to joining UNSW, Dr. Song served as a professor at Hebei University in China, where his teaching and research covered a broad spectrum of topics, including solar cells, silicon materials, photoelectric devices and automation engineering. Dr. Song has published and presented over 150 papers in scientific and technical journals and at various PV industry conferences.

''I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Song to the Yingli team,'' said Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli Green Energy. ''We believe Dr. Song's deep industry knowledge and extensive technical expertise will contribute to our leadership in the renewable energy sector. We have always recognized the importance of improving yield rates, increasing cost savings and enhancing cell conversion efficiencies. We look forward to having Dr. Song lead our efforts in these areas while strengthening our focus on innovation and the creation of superior technology throughout the Company.''

''We greatly appreciate the contributions Dr. Yao made during his tenure at Yingli and we wish him the best in his future endeavors,'' Mr. Miao concluded.

Canadian Solar launches new PV cell research center in China's Suzhou

BEIJING, Feb 02, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- China-based solar product producer Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ.Nsadaq) announced that it has officially opened a new PV cell research center in East China's Suzhou in partnership with Dupont, University of Toronto and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

This research center will consolidate all R&D facilities of Canadian Solar in one place in order to heighten the efficiency and product yield of both regular polysilicon cells and proprietary solar grade e-cells.

Now, the research center is staffed with 20 scientists, engineers and technicians with ultimate workers to be as many as 38.

Canadian Solar has paid most of the outlay for the construction of this facility in 2008, which will have total cost of 10 million U.S. dollars and 1,500 square meters of acreage.

Qu Xiaohua, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, said that this solar company aims to improve average cell efficiency for polysilicon/monocrystalline cells to 18.5 percent and solar grade cells to 15.5 percent within 12 months.

The cooperation between Canadian Solar and DuPont will focus on solar grade cells, according to Canadian Solar.

Canadian Solar has chosen selective emitter, N-type and back-contact cells and other high efficiency structures for study in a bid to raise efficiency.