China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) said it expected to start construction of three nuclear power plants with a total of five reactors in 2009.
CNNC, the country`s largest nuclear power company, will start construction of the Sanmen nuclear power plant in Zhejiang in March. The project will have two 1,250-megawatt reactors, said a source with the company.
The company will start building another nuclear power plant in Haiyang, Shandong province, at the end of September, said the source, who declined to be named.
Both plants will use AP1000 technology from US-based Westinghouse. China in 2007 signed an agreement with Westinghouse for use of the third-generation nuclear technology.
CNNC is expected to start construction of an inland nuclear plant, the Taohuajiang nuclear power project, within the year, said the source. The project would be among the first batch of China`s inland nuclear power projects.
China`s top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission has approved preparation work for the Taohuajiang project, according to CNNC.
As one of China`s two main nuclear power plant builders, revenues of CNNC`s main business in 2008 were 36.6 billion yuan, an increase of 39 percent from a year earlier. The company`s profit was 4.8 billion yuan, an increase of 85 percent from 2007.
The company produced 37.9 billion kilowatts of electricity in 2008.
Last year, CNNC made improvements in its other nuclear projects in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong, Fujian, Anhui, Liaoning, Gansu and Henan.
China plans to increase its nuclear power capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2020, which would account for 4 percent of the nation`s power capacity.
However, in line with the boom in the industry, industry insiders said that the 40-gigawatts plan would be elevated.
China now has a total of 11 nuclear reactors in operation, with a combined capacity of 9,080 megawatts.
China Everbright International Ltd, a conglomerate engaged in environmental protection, infrastructure and property investment, announced it has inked an agreement on Jan. 10 with the Sanitation and Management Bureau of Jinan on the construction of a refuse incineration power plant.
The project, involving a total investment of 901 million yuan, is designed with a capacity of disposing 2,000 tonnes of garbage per day.
The franchised operation contract will last for 25 years.
The company has already invested nearly 3 billion yuan in over 10 projects in Jiangsu, Shandong and Guangdong.
It’s learned from the working conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) held Monday that CAS has formally launched the solar energy action plan, Xinhua Net reports.
The solar energy action plan makes it a long-term target to use solar energy as an important energy source in the year 2050 or so. The target consist of three phase target, namely, decentralized utilization in 2015, alternative utilization in 2025, and large-scale utilization in 2035. The plan will start with key scientific problems involved in the several major pathways of solar energy conversion and utilization including photovoltaic, photoelectric, photothermal, photochemical and photobiological, and be carried out from several aspects like core technology R&D, application demonstration, and transfer and conversion. Through the plan, CAS will combine technical force around the country, strength breakthroughs in new principles, methods, materials, and technologies, and promote the combination of production, learning and research, in a move to enable the large-scale utilization of solar energy in economy as soon as possible, revealed a spokesman of CAS.
It’s reported that solar energy is highly recognized by the international committee as a major renewable energy source in the future world. However, due to its uncompetitive cost compared with traditional energy, there still exist a number of unresolved key technological problems in large-scale application. At present, China is weak in solar energy research, without core technologies and independent innovation capabilities, which has severely hampered China’s future development in the field.
The implementation of the solar energy action plan will form a new technological innovation system to support the development of China’s energy industry, and build a number of public platforms and research centers on solar energy technologies, said a spokesman of CAS.
China’s PV industry chain has grown more complete, including PV application products and special equipment like polysilicon materials, casting, cells, balanced components, etc. The production value of China’s PV industry in 2007 exceeded 100 billion yuan, and employees surpassed 100,000. At present, there are 34 provinces and municipalities engaged in polysilicon and PV products production. Statistics from the Chinese Renewable Energy Society shows, China’s solar cell production in 2007 was 821MWp, accounting for 22% of the world’s total, surpassing that of Germany for the first time, and ranking second in the world. Solar PV special equipment manufacturer, as a part of the industrial chain, has also witnessed rapid development.
However, the international financial crisis has also affected the vital solar PV industry. And China’s solar PV equipment manufacturers are also faced with new challenges. We should upgrade the technologies of home-made equipment, strengthen the cost-effective advantage of existing products, provide more efficient and better quality technical services, accelerate the research and development of products that fill the domestic gap, and provide integrated solutions to home-made equipment as soon as possible.
The scale of installed wind power at Guodian Longyuan Group exceeds 2.6 million KW, making it the biggest wind power business in Asia, according to Guodian Longyuan Group.
According to the latest update from Guodian Longyuan Group on the 6th of January, the Group had as many as 23 wind power projects coming into production in 2008 with a production capacity of 1.2 million KW. So far Longyuan Group has passed on for production 2,691 wind turbines and 50 wind farms in 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
Statistics show that in 2008 Longyuan Group has produced 3.813 billion KWH of wind power, which, when compared with thermo power, have saved 1.42 million tons of standard coal, 11.58 million tons of water, reduced 3.905 million tons of carbon dioxides and 22,500 tons of sulphur dioxide in emission.
It is understood that 2009 will continue to see a strong growth in wind power in China. It is estimated that Guodian Longyuan Group alone will have a production capacity of 4.5 million KW and 42 projects will commence production in 2009.
Two Chinese companies plan to build a solar power plant in northwestern China that could one day be the largest photovoltaic solar project in the world.
The news helped spur a rally in shares of solar power companies that was also underpinned by higher oil prices and a strong rise in the broader market.
China Technology Development Group Corp and privately held Qinghai New Energy Group will begin building a 30 megawatt solar power station in China`s Qaidam Basin this year with an initial investment of $150 million, they said in a joint statement.
The project, which will combine thin-film and traditional silicon-based technologies that turn the sun`s rays into electricity, ultimately will produce 1 gigawatt of power, the companies said, without giving a timeframe.
According to Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov, the largest photovoltaic solar project announced to date is the 550 MW deal between closely held thin-film company OptiSolar and California utility PG&E Corp.
"The initial phase of the project is … itself one of the largest solar farms ever announced in China," Molchanov wrote in a client note, adding that the Chinese government is beginning to offer more incentives for solar power projects.
"While PV demand has been historically driven by a small number of key countries, the demand profile should become more geographically diverse over time," Molchanov added.
The news was a welcome reprieve for investors in solar power companies, which have been hard hit by a lack of funding for new projects, a drop in prices on solar panels as supplies have jumped and a dramatic drop in oil prices that has tempered investor appetite for renewable energy.
China Technology Development shares rose 29 percent to $2.61 on NASDAQ following the announcement on Friday.
The rally extended across the industry, with US solar equipment maker GT Solar International Inc up 24.6 percent at $3.60, Chinese solar cell maker JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd up 12.6 percent at $4.92, US cell maker SunPower Corp up 12.8 percent at $41.74, and China`s Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd up 13.1 percent at $6.90.
A jump in the price of crude oil to over $46 a barrel and a 2 percent rise in Wall Street`s main indexes also boosted solar stocks, Molchanov said in an interview.
The solar rally came despite a downward revision by Piper Jaffray analyst Jesse Pichel to five solar companies` earnings estimates. Pichel lowered his estimates on GT Solar, Canadian Solar Inc, Evergreen Solar Inc, LDK Solar Co Ltd and Renesola Ltd.
"We cautiously assume Q1 will be the industry shipment trough," Pichel wrote, adding that solar "stocks could trade higher in the next 12 months depending on credit and the extent renewables play in the Obama recovery package."
"Up to now, the overall design, key system design, and the overall design of key equipment of AP1000 inland nuclear power plant have been completed. Meanwhile, the drafting of the overall design report on standardized design and project cost estimation work have been finished,” said a spokesman of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation, Xinhua Net reports.
It’s revealed that the standardized design of AP1000 inland nuclear power plant conducted by the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation takes Pengze Nulcear Powr Plant as the reference site. The total installed capacity is planned to be 4 sets of 1,250,000KW nuclear power units.
China Electricity Council (CEC) released “Statistics Report on the National Electric Power Industry in 2008” Monday, which claims investment in wind power and nuclear power infrastructures grew rapidly in 2008, up 71.85% and 88.10% respectively. While investment in thermal power infrastructures is in a downward trend, down 21.99%.
In 2008, the newly added production capacity of infrastructures has maintained rapid growth. The newly added capacity of power generating equipment is 90.51 million kilowatts, including 20.1 million kilowatts of hydropower, 65.75 million kilowatts of thermal power, and 4.66 million kilowatts of wind power.
By the end of 2008, the installed capacity of power generating equipment is 792.53 million KW, up10.34% year-on-year, including 171.52 million KW of hydropower, up 15.68% year-on-year; 601.32 million KW of thermal power, up 8.15% year-on-year; the total installed capacity of grid-connected wind power 8.94 million KW, up 111.5%.
"Up to now, the overall design, key system design, and the overall design of key equipment of AP1000 inland nuclear power plant have been completed. Meanwhile, the drafting of the overall design report on standardized design and project cost estimation work have been finished,” said a spokesman of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation, Xinhua Net reports.
It’s revealed that the standardized design of AP1000 inland nuclear power plant conducted by the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation takes Pengze Nulcear Powr Plant as the reference site. The total installed capacity is planned to be 4 sets of 1,250,000KW nuclear power units.
Qaidam Basin in Qinghai will build the biggest on-grid solar power station in China with a planned total installed capacity of 1GW. The first phase of the project will build 30MW, and construction is expected to start in 2009. The project will be the first in its application of photovoltaic cell matrix combining non-crystalline silicon film and crystalline silicon. Phase 1 investment is around 1 billion yuan, Qinghai Daily reports.
Haixi Mongolian Autonomous State People’s Government, China Science and Technology Development Company Ltd and Qinghai New Energy (Group) Company Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement in Xining to invest and build a 1GW on-grid solar power station in Qaidam Basin.
The solar power station will be situated in the Qaidam Cycle Economic Experiment Zone. Its geographical location means it can utilize the solar power and the dessert resources effectively, driving the development of solar power related industries in Qinghai. The project is in line with the government policy of “energy saving and remission reduction”, making it crucial to the sustainable development and the improvement of the ecological environment in Qinghai.