03/07/2007
AIM dealings start on Friday in Jetion Holdings, a Chinese maker of performance solar cells and modules, after it raised £30.5 million.
Dipesh Shah, former boss of BP Solar International, is chairman and Lijin Gai, ex-director of New York-listed Suntech Power Holdings, is chief executive officer of Jetion. The company supplies solar cells and components, and Photovoltaic energy systems to industrial users from its base in China's Jiangsu province, two hours from Shanghai. Broker Collins Stewart is nominated adviser to Jetion, whose directors have sold nearly five million shares into the float, which values the company at £112 million.
Jetion's turnover exceeded £22.7 million last year and it is now making money. The company said it will use the float proceeds to boost annual production capacity to 100 megawatts.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Solar Ovens Provide Alternative to Cooking with Wood in Rural China
By Jeff McIntire-Strasburg Filed on Jun 28, 2007 at 12:20 PM PST
Most of us in the developed world don't think a lot about the source of fuel we use for cooking: unless there's a power outage, we can turn a knob or press a button, and we've got the heat we need. If we've got a gas stovetop, we don't even need the electricity! We know, of course, that people in the developing world generally aren't this fortunate, and wood-gathering is a necessary part of the food preparation ritual. But what do people in poverty do if wood supplies start to run low because of deforestation, desertification, or just a simple lack of usable wood?
In Gansu, China, a region that receives little rainfall and has no trees, a very old technology has provided a solution: the solar oven. The concept of using a curved mirror to focus sunlight, and the heat it provides, has been around since the ancient Greeks; relief and development agency Operation Blessing International has purchased and installed over 200 of these ovens (made from concrete and mirrors) in Gansu. The program has been so popular that the organization has just released funding for 200 more in the region. According to Operation Blessing president Bill Horan,
"In Gansu, like in many other poverty-stricken regions around the world, firewood is as precious as water. There are virtually no trees here, and so little rain, that the only bath most people take in their whole life is on their wedding day. These solar ovens are based on ancient technology and they are eco-friendly - a totally renewable energy source."
OBI is considering taking the program to another devastated region of the world: the Darfur region of the Sudan, where the organization operates several refugee and relief camps in partnership with a German charity.
We Westerners tend to associate "technology" with the latest devices: computers, cell phones, renewable energy installations, etc. This simple, time-tested technology, though, looks like just the thing for impoverished people around the world. And, even with the high carbon emissions associated with concrete production, this looks like a pretty climate-friendly alternative, too...
Most of us in the developed world don't think a lot about the source of fuel we use for cooking: unless there's a power outage, we can turn a knob or press a button, and we've got the heat we need. If we've got a gas stovetop, we don't even need the electricity! We know, of course, that people in the developing world generally aren't this fortunate, and wood-gathering is a necessary part of the food preparation ritual. But what do people in poverty do if wood supplies start to run low because of deforestation, desertification, or just a simple lack of usable wood?
In Gansu, China, a region that receives little rainfall and has no trees, a very old technology has provided a solution: the solar oven. The concept of using a curved mirror to focus sunlight, and the heat it provides, has been around since the ancient Greeks; relief and development agency Operation Blessing International has purchased and installed over 200 of these ovens (made from concrete and mirrors) in Gansu. The program has been so popular that the organization has just released funding for 200 more in the region. According to Operation Blessing president Bill Horan,
"In Gansu, like in many other poverty-stricken regions around the world, firewood is as precious as water. There are virtually no trees here, and so little rain, that the only bath most people take in their whole life is on their wedding day. These solar ovens are based on ancient technology and they are eco-friendly - a totally renewable energy source."
OBI is considering taking the program to another devastated region of the world: the Darfur region of the Sudan, where the organization operates several refugee and relief camps in partnership with a German charity.
We Westerners tend to associate "technology" with the latest devices: computers, cell phones, renewable energy installations, etc. This simple, time-tested technology, though, looks like just the thing for impoverished people around the world. And, even with the high carbon emissions associated with concrete production, this looks like a pretty climate-friendly alternative, too...
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Royalstar and EPV to Produce Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) modules together in Hefei, China
June 28,2007
Royalstar and EPV plan to produce amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar modules together in Hefei, China.
The first phase project will have annual production capacity of 5.5MW, and the production capacity will reach 25MW in 2-3 years and reach 100MW in 5 years.
Royalstar and EPV plan to produce amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar modules together in Hefei, China.
The first phase project will have annual production capacity of 5.5MW, and the production capacity will reach 25MW in 2-3 years and reach 100MW in 5 years.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Construction on large polysilicon production base starts in southwest China
Xinhua Economic News Service , June 28, 2007 Thursday 5:00 AM EST
CHONGQING, June 28 (CEIS) - Construction on a large polysilicon production base involving total investment of four billion yuan started in Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, on June 27.
The project, invested by Daqo Group, will be the largest of its kind in China as its first phase project with an annual capacity of 3, 000 tons, is put into production in June of next year.
When the whole project is completed in 2009, it will be capable of producing 6,000 tons of polysilicon a year.
It is of important strategic significance for China to break the monopoly of foreign companies, ease the shortage of raw material supply for its booming solar industry and sharpen the international competitive edge of its solar industry, said market analysts.
Daqo Group, well-known as a middle-voltage electrical equipment producer with annual sales revenue topping six billion yuan, has obtained the exclusive right of polysilicon production technology in China from a German technology transfer company. It is learned that the technology can help Daqo produce both solar-class polysilicon and electronic-class one, with relatively low energy consumption and cost.
Wanzhou of Chongqing is rich in silicon ore, raw materials for producing polysilicon. After the polysilicon project is launched, Wanzhou will try to extend the production chain to the downstream silicon wafer and solar cell sectors.
China's major solar cell makers including Suntech (NYSE: STP), JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) and Solarfun Power (NASDAQ: SOLF) are all likely to be Daqo's key clients, but related cooperation agreements are expected to be signed next year, according to Xu Guangfu, chairman of Daqo Group.
June 27th, Daqo Group Multi Silicon Project Broke Ground in Chongqing. This will be the largest multi silicon production base in China, and the total investment is 4 Billion RMB (400 Million Euro).
Daqo Group plans to start the production in June 2008, and the production capacity will reach 3,000 Ton in 2008 and 6,000 Ton in 2009.
CHONGQING, June 28 (CEIS) - Construction on a large polysilicon production base involving total investment of four billion yuan started in Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, on June 27.
The project, invested by Daqo Group, will be the largest of its kind in China as its first phase project with an annual capacity of 3, 000 tons, is put into production in June of next year.
When the whole project is completed in 2009, it will be capable of producing 6,000 tons of polysilicon a year.
It is of important strategic significance for China to break the monopoly of foreign companies, ease the shortage of raw material supply for its booming solar industry and sharpen the international competitive edge of its solar industry, said market analysts.
Daqo Group, well-known as a middle-voltage electrical equipment producer with annual sales revenue topping six billion yuan, has obtained the exclusive right of polysilicon production technology in China from a German technology transfer company. It is learned that the technology can help Daqo produce both solar-class polysilicon and electronic-class one, with relatively low energy consumption and cost.
Wanzhou of Chongqing is rich in silicon ore, raw materials for producing polysilicon. After the polysilicon project is launched, Wanzhou will try to extend the production chain to the downstream silicon wafer and solar cell sectors.
China's major solar cell makers including Suntech (NYSE: STP), JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) and Solarfun Power (NASDAQ: SOLF) are all likely to be Daqo's key clients, but related cooperation agreements are expected to be signed next year, according to Xu Guangfu, chairman of Daqo Group.
June 27th, Daqo Group Multi Silicon Project Broke Ground in Chongqing. This will be the largest multi silicon production base in China, and the total investment is 4 Billion RMB (400 Million Euro).
Daqo Group plans to start the production in June 2008, and the production capacity will reach 3,000 Ton in 2008 and 6,000 Ton in 2009.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Dr Shi takes a shine to the PM
Florence Chong
June 26, 2007
SHI Zhengrong - dubbed China's sunshine boy by the international press - has pressured Prime Minister John Howard to join his push to pursue renewable energy in preference to nuclear power.
The visiting Australian-passport-holding billionaire told The Australian: "I said to the Prime Minister, as far as I understand, it will take 10 years to plan for nuclear power.
"In reality, solar power will definitely be very competitive with conventional technology in 10 years' time. There is no need to go to nuclear power."
Dr Shi is the founder of the Nasdaq-listed Suntech Power, capitalised at $US5.5 billion ($6.5 billion).
In 2005, he raised $US455 million to fund expansion and research and development. He owns 40 per cent of the shares himself.
Over dinner in Canberra last Friday, Dr Shi explained to Mr Howard that conventional energy sources such as oil should be kept for needs such as aviation.
"I urge Australia to promote renewable energy, such as solar energy. Australian sunshine is an asset - you have to use it," he said.
According to Dr Shi, Mr Howard agreed, but said Australia lacked the ability to use solar energy for baseload power, which is why his government was looking at nuclear power.
Dr Shi said a big percentage of Australia's electricity supplies could come from solar energy, so "in my opinion there is no need for a big baseload".
Dr Shi, who came to Australia as a student when he was 19, was part of a delegation from Wuxi, a city near Shanghai, visiting Australia to recruit 300 young talents in a range of disciplines.
The former PhD student of University of NSW maintains close links with its research department, particularly his mentor Professor Martin Green, a world leader in photovoltaic solar cells.
The efficiency of solar technology is improving, he said, but he agreed that, depending on the location, it still cost two-to-five-times that of conventional energy.
Dr Shi said the cost of silicon was the reason solar energy remained expensive.
However, with plenty of money going into setting up additional silicon manufacturing capacity, he expected the silicon price to drop from 2009 onwards, when the extra plants went into production.
June 26, 2007
SHI Zhengrong - dubbed China's sunshine boy by the international press - has pressured Prime Minister John Howard to join his push to pursue renewable energy in preference to nuclear power.
The visiting Australian-passport-holding billionaire told The Australian: "I said to the Prime Minister, as far as I understand, it will take 10 years to plan for nuclear power.
"In reality, solar power will definitely be very competitive with conventional technology in 10 years' time. There is no need to go to nuclear power."
Dr Shi is the founder of the Nasdaq-listed Suntech Power, capitalised at $US5.5 billion ($6.5 billion).
In 2005, he raised $US455 million to fund expansion and research and development. He owns 40 per cent of the shares himself.
Over dinner in Canberra last Friday, Dr Shi explained to Mr Howard that conventional energy sources such as oil should be kept for needs such as aviation.
"I urge Australia to promote renewable energy, such as solar energy. Australian sunshine is an asset - you have to use it," he said.
According to Dr Shi, Mr Howard agreed, but said Australia lacked the ability to use solar energy for baseload power, which is why his government was looking at nuclear power.
Dr Shi said a big percentage of Australia's electricity supplies could come from solar energy, so "in my opinion there is no need for a big baseload".
Dr Shi, who came to Australia as a student when he was 19, was part of a delegation from Wuxi, a city near Shanghai, visiting Australia to recruit 300 young talents in a range of disciplines.
The former PhD student of University of NSW maintains close links with its research department, particularly his mentor Professor Martin Green, a world leader in photovoltaic solar cells.
The efficiency of solar technology is improving, he said, but he agreed that, depending on the location, it still cost two-to-five-times that of conventional energy.
Dr Shi said the cost of silicon was the reason solar energy remained expensive.
However, with plenty of money going into setting up additional silicon manufacturing capacity, he expected the silicon price to drop from 2009 onwards, when the extra plants went into production.
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