Reuters
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')ANALYSIS - State funding fuels China's global push in wind, sun
HONG KONG (Reuters) - When A-Power Energy Generation Systems secured a deal to supply turbines for a U.S. wind farm project in October, the little-known Chinese firm had an ace up its sleeve to help it clinch the deal.
A-Power was armed with $1.5 billion in financing from state-run Chinese banks to fund the 600 megawatt project in Texas.
While global peers have limited access to cheap state loans, Chinese renewable energy firms are getting a boost from Beijing as they win clean technology projects around the world. Much of that is via low-interest loans from big state banks for their clients to finance their purchases.
This support is giving China's renewable energy firms an edge over Asian rivals such as India's Suzlon Energy, Japan Wind Development and Australia's Infigen Energy, as well as heavyweights like German polysilicon firm Wacker Chemie and Danish wind energy firm Vestas Wind.
"I don't think A-Power could have done this deal without access to cheap financing," said Jacob Kirkregaard, a research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington D.C, who recently published a paper on wind energy.
"China is clearly the big kid on the block, no doubt about that," he said, referring to the state support for renewable energy.
PeakOil is You
Huge Opportunity in Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturer
Re: Huge Opportunity in Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturer
by Carlhole » Tue 22 Dec 2009, 09:07:03
- Carlhole
Re: Huge Opportunity in Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturer
by TheDude » Tue 22 Dec 2009, 09:22:59
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') see this stock as a kind of barometer of the level of DOOM that is actually believable.
Nice false dichotomy. Did you look at that photo gallery I linked to? Those people might not be DOOMED, but they are most certainly F%$%CKED.
China's Wind Power Plans Turn On Coal
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n Jiuquan, new coal-fired power plants with 13.6 million kilowatts of installed capacity — the same amount of energy generated by Chile in 2009 — will be added by 2020. The need to add baseload coal-fired power plants has the effect of reducing the clean benefits of wind power.
But the local economic planner, Wang Jianxin, chairman of the Jiuquan Development and Reform Commission, says adding more polluting coal-fired power plants is unavoidable if you want to be green.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. We're trying to get the best benefit for the lowest cost. But nothing happens without a sacrifice, and this is a necessary cost," Wang says.
During a recent visit, only four of the farm's wind turbines had been hooked up to the grid, though more are being added every day. According to Caijing, an influential business and investigative magazine, one-third of the wind power generated in Yumen district is wasted.
And that is typical, with just 72 percent of China's total wind power capacity connected to the grid, according to data from the China Electricity Council. In many parts of China, the transmission network can't cope with the rapid growth in renewable energy. But Wang, the economic planner, says these are just teething problems.
"If someone who wanted to buy a car waited for roads to be built first, and road builders waited for enough cars to be bought before building a road, then nothing would ever happen," says Wang. "Here, sometimes the power stations are built faster than the grid, sometimes the grid is built faster."
The local government will spend almost $1.5 billion in the next year, laying just 450 miles of ultra-high voltage cables that will eventually deliver the electricity to populated areas. This will be part of the world's first large-scale ultra-high voltage grid.
But Charlie McElwee, an energy and environmental lawyer based in Shanghai, says the modernization of the grid system won't solve all the problems immediately.
"There are still going to be issues with the intermittent nature of wind energy, and it's going to take 15 years or so until the grid itself is in a position to handle these intermittent power sources without these coal-fired power sources built in the same vicinity," he says.
Cogito, ergo non satis bibivi
And let me tell you something: I dig your work.
And let me tell you something: I dig your work.
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Re: Huge Opportunity in Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturer
by Carlhole » Tue 22 Dec 2009, 10:37:36
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', '[')url=http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/12/10/chinas-wind-power-plans-turn-on-coal/]China's Wind Power Plans Turn On Coal[/url]
Good article. I liked this part:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')onetheless, China is undergoing a green revolution, says Jonathan Woetzel of McKinsey, the consulting firm. He argues that having turbines blowing aimlessly in the wind isn't necessarily wasted effort — if your intent is to build an industry.
"The intent of the government is also not only that these farms are built and operated, but also that the equipment itself is Chinese-made and the technology is developed in China, and that ultimately it becomes a global industry, and that China will become the exporters of wind technology to the world," Woetzel says.
And to that end, China is succeeding. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China has doubled its wind power capacity every year for the past five — this year adding more wind power than any other country — and it's on track to become the world's largest producer of wind turbines this year. Given the scale of China's ambitions, the sky really is the limit.
Good article. I liked this part:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')onetheless, China is undergoing a green revolution, says Jonathan Woetzel of McKinsey, the consulting firm. He argues that having turbines blowing aimlessly in the wind isn't necessarily wasted effort — if your intent is to build an industry.
"The intent of the government is also not only that these farms are built and operated, but also that the equipment itself is Chinese-made and the technology is developed in China, and that ultimately it becomes a global industry, and that China will become the exporters of wind technology to the world," Woetzel says.
And to that end, China is succeeding. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China has doubled its wind power capacity every year for the past five — this year adding more wind power than any other country — and it's on track to become the world's largest producer of wind turbines this year. Given the scale of China's ambitions, the sky really is the limit.
What false dichotomy? APWR's business plan runs contrary to Doomer thinking. You might reckon that the company can grow for a while before petroleum gets too expensive for it to operate. And coal, too, runs short. But then, you would have to make a prediction as to when this company's prospects suddenly becomes OBVIOUS to the stock market. Because there is ZERO fear of that anywhere that I can detect.
The stock market has a pretty good knack for predicting the future - and it quite approving of this little Chinese darling right now. There are no market fears that cheap energy won't be available to radically build-out renewables and alternatives alongside conventional fules in a smart grid. This is APWR's business.
It sure doesn't look like anything is going to stop the Chinese renewable energy juggernaut. So believe in Doom if you want to. But you'll have to tune out important information like APWR's success.
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- Carlhole