Big solar plant planned for northwest China
The news helped spur a rally in shares of solar power companies that was also underpinned by higher oil prices and a strong rise 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.
Related News
Atlantic grids, forestry, coastlines need rethink in era of intense storms: experts
HALIFAX - In an era when storms with hurricane-force winds are expected to keep battering Atlantic Canada, experts say the region should make major changes to electrical grids, shoreline defences and even the types of trees being planted.
Work continues today to reconnect customers after post-tropical storm Dorian knocked out power to 80 per cent of homes and businesses in Nova Scotia. By early afternoon there were 56,000 customers without electricity in the province, compared with 400,000 at the storm's peak on the weekend.
Recent scientific literature says 35 hurricanes -- not including post-tropical storms like Dorian -- have made landfall in…
