Thanks to JLMPacific for this excellent reporting. Excellent company, go to their website to follow them: http://www.pacificepoch.com/
Eight provinces in western China will start bidding for more than 10 photovoltaic (PV) projects with a combined installed capacity of 280MW, said an unnamed source cited in a June 22 report from China Business News.
By the end of 2009, China had installed a total capacity of 300MW in PV projects while it had manufactured a total of 4,000MW of solar cells in the year 2009, only 7% of which were used in domestic PV projects, according to the report.
Shi Lishan, vice director of the National Energy Administration's New Energy Department, said that bidding for all projects would start simultaneously but that feed-in tariffs awarded would probably differ by location, according to the report. An unnamed employee of an unspecified PV company was quoted as saying the prices are likely to be above RMB 1.09 per kWh but below RMB 1.15 per kWh, the report said.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Massive Open Tender for Utility-Scale Solar Power Projects
China has started a massive open tender of utility-scale solar power projects after a smaller tender last year, in an effort, analysts said, to help Beijing set on-grid power prices for such projects.
The 280-megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic power projects, including 60 MW in Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia respectively, 50 MW in Qinghai, 30 MW in Ningxia and 20 MW in Shaanxi province, was split between 13 projects, according to the National Energy Administration.
The government would announce the tender results on August 10, the administration said in a notice.
A consortium led by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp won the country's first open tender for a 10 MW solar power project in Dunhuang in Gansu last year by proposing and accepting an on-grid power tariff of 1.09 yuan per kilowatt hour, which some industry officials deemed as low due to over-competition.
In April this year, China set the on-grid tariff for four new utility-level photovoltaic power stations in Ningxia region at 1.15 yuan per kilowatt hour (kWh), sharply lower than 4 yuan/kWh that had Beijing approved for two projects in 2008.
The National Development and Reform Commission, in charge of economic planning and pricing policies, said in August last year that it was considering setting benchmark grid feed-in tariffs for utility-scale solar power projects. It did not specify a timeframe for the announcement of the rates that analysts said would be essential for developers to factor income into investment decisions and operational plans.
Some analysts said the government may try to define more appropriate solar power prices by tendering more projects before announcing nationwide on-grid solar power prices, as it did for the wind power sector.
The 280-megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic power projects, including 60 MW in Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia respectively, 50 MW in Qinghai, 30 MW in Ningxia and 20 MW in Shaanxi province, was split between 13 projects, according to the National Energy Administration.
The government would announce the tender results on August 10, the administration said in a notice.
A consortium led by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp won the country's first open tender for a 10 MW solar power project in Dunhuang in Gansu last year by proposing and accepting an on-grid power tariff of 1.09 yuan per kilowatt hour, which some industry officials deemed as low due to over-competition.
In April this year, China set the on-grid tariff for four new utility-level photovoltaic power stations in Ningxia region at 1.15 yuan per kilowatt hour (kWh), sharply lower than 4 yuan/kWh that had Beijing approved for two projects in 2008.
The National Development and Reform Commission, in charge of economic planning and pricing policies, said in August last year that it was considering setting benchmark grid feed-in tariffs for utility-scale solar power projects. It did not specify a timeframe for the announcement of the rates that analysts said would be essential for developers to factor income into investment decisions and operational plans.
Some analysts said the government may try to define more appropriate solar power prices by tendering more projects before announcing nationwide on-grid solar power prices, as it did for the wind power sector.
Ernst & Young say China, US Equally Attractive Places for Clean Tech Investment
In Ernst & Young's most recent Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices, China gained two points and the US lost one to put them in a dead tie for most attractive place to invest in renewable energy.
According to the 30-page report, China invested $34.6 billion in clean energy in the last year, almost double that of the United States.
A major reason the US lost one point is the long delay of the US climate and clean energy bill and fear that it might not be passed before the November mid-term elections.
According to the 30-page report, China invested $34.6 billion in clean energy in the last year, almost double that of the United States.
A major reason the US lost one point is the long delay of the US climate and clean energy bill and fear that it might not be passed before the November mid-term elections.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Applied Materials SummerSun Twitterstorm
Tomorrow 12noonPST/3pmEST I will be participating in a Applied Materials's SummerSun Twitterstorm. I have been watching the company for awhile now. I am particularly interested in their solar research and demonstration facility in Xi'an. This will be the largest non-government solar energy facility in world. There has been some debate about what this facility means in terms of China US solar business. Back in March, Keith Bradsher caused a stir with his New York Times article, "China Drawing High-Tech Research From U.S."http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/business/global/18research.html. Keith argued that China's investment in clean tech could lead to a reserve brain drain. Mark Pinto, Applied Materials's Chief Technology Officer, moving to Xi'an was central to his argument. Friends of mine have told me that Mark doesn't share Keith Bradsher's concern that not only is China beating us in the clean tech race, but that a good chunk of Silicon Valley could pack its bags and move to China.
I appreciate the motives of many people who warn the US that we are being left behind in developing solar and other renewable markets and technologies. Vast majority of these people seem to be encouraging US investment in technology, infrastructure, and subsidies. I don't think, however, that following Tom Friedman's lead and thinking of the US-China solar relationship as our generation's Sputnik and race to the moon is either helpful or accurate.
First of all, I think that the current state of China's solar industry is complicated. To answer how China is doing in developing its solar industry, the answer lies in the middle. There are some impressive solar policies in place, 2009's Rooftop and Golden Sun policies at the top of the list. There are also some major implementation problems and China faces some of the same challenges as the US. Not being able to come up with a nation-wide comprehensive feed-in tariff and a inter-provincial transmission issues being two. I would also through in storage near the top of challenges that are keeping China's impressively ambitious solar plans from becoming a reality on the ground.
Most Western commentators want to portray them as global solar powerhouse that is beating the US or a paper tiger that is pretending to be green but in reality has no interest in seriously developing a domestic solar market due to coal-solar price differential.
On the Chinese are kicking our ass side, I put two NYT writers at the top of the list, Tom Friedman and Keith Bradsher. KB has even thrown out the idea that the US might be as dependent on China for green energy in the future in a similar way that we are to Saudi Arabia. I have already mentioned a couple of reasons that China is a ways away from becoming the big green threat. I think the disjointed nature of the Chinese state is another hindrance. The most interesting solar policies are happening at the provincial level. For example, the province of Jiangsu, where Suntech is headquartered, has been acting like an independent nation in terms of promoting its solar industry. The Jiangsu-California relationship is a particularly interesting one. Other provinces and local governments have been actively seeking foreign investment and participation in their solar industries. Inner Mongolian provincial and local officials acting aggressively and independently in orchestrating the First Solar Ordos concentrated solar plant deal. Mike Ahearn from First Solar says that the local feed-in tariff was a key reason they went with the deal. The Shaanxi provincial and local governments also attracted Applied Materials to Xi'an with incentives including very cheap property prices. Shaanxi has also provided incentives to eSolar to Yulin for their CSP plant plans.
So, just as US states acting independently with their renewable portfolios leads to transmission and other regulatory and coordination headaches, China has the same problem. So, when the China kicking our ass crowd points to the money Beijing is putting into clean tech, we need to closely watch how the money and policy trickles down to the local level.
I appreciate the motives of many people who warn the US that we are being left behind in developing solar and other renewable markets and technologies. Vast majority of these people seem to be encouraging US investment in technology, infrastructure, and subsidies. I don't think, however, that following Tom Friedman's lead and thinking of the US-China solar relationship as our generation's Sputnik and race to the moon is either helpful or accurate.
First of all, I think that the current state of China's solar industry is complicated. To answer how China is doing in developing its solar industry, the answer lies in the middle. There are some impressive solar policies in place, 2009's Rooftop and Golden Sun policies at the top of the list. There are also some major implementation problems and China faces some of the same challenges as the US. Not being able to come up with a nation-wide comprehensive feed-in tariff and a inter-provincial transmission issues being two. I would also through in storage near the top of challenges that are keeping China's impressively ambitious solar plans from becoming a reality on the ground.
Most Western commentators want to portray them as global solar powerhouse that is beating the US or a paper tiger that is pretending to be green but in reality has no interest in seriously developing a domestic solar market due to coal-solar price differential.
On the Chinese are kicking our ass side, I put two NYT writers at the top of the list, Tom Friedman and Keith Bradsher. KB has even thrown out the idea that the US might be as dependent on China for green energy in the future in a similar way that we are to Saudi Arabia. I have already mentioned a couple of reasons that China is a ways away from becoming the big green threat. I think the disjointed nature of the Chinese state is another hindrance. The most interesting solar policies are happening at the provincial level. For example, the province of Jiangsu, where Suntech is headquartered, has been acting like an independent nation in terms of promoting its solar industry. The Jiangsu-California relationship is a particularly interesting one. Other provinces and local governments have been actively seeking foreign investment and participation in their solar industries. Inner Mongolian provincial and local officials acting aggressively and independently in orchestrating the First Solar Ordos concentrated solar plant deal. Mike Ahearn from First Solar says that the local feed-in tariff was a key reason they went with the deal. The Shaanxi provincial and local governments also attracted Applied Materials to Xi'an with incentives including very cheap property prices. Shaanxi has also provided incentives to eSolar to Yulin for their CSP plant plans.
So, just as US states acting independently with their renewable portfolios leads to transmission and other regulatory and coordination headaches, China has the same problem. So, when the China kicking our ass crowd points to the money Beijing is putting into clean tech, we need to closely watch how the money and policy trickles down to the local level.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
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