Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 32

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

costs for turbines. power.
Fitch said that these lower costs could com- For example, State Power Investment Corpo-
pensate for the impact of lower tariffs and the ration, one of China’s top-five state-owned gen-
absence of subsidies in future on gencos’ profits cos, is leading the expansion, having won 7% and
and cash flow. 9% of subsidised and unsubsidised solar project
In the solar sector, investment accounted for bidding respectively in 2020.
8% of total power generation investment in the Even China General Nuclear Power Corpora-
first half of the year, a 4% increase. tion (CGN) subscribed to 3.5 GW of greenfield
Fitch said it expected solar investment to be solar power capacity, amounting to 4% of total
increasingly led by state-owned gencos, which capacity.
have been more active in this year’s bidding for While the Chinese government has seen an
subsidised projects and accounted for 65% of uptick in coal investment since the COVID-19
approved subsidised capacity. lockdown affected economic activity, the renew-
The solar business expansion of state-owned ables sector is continuing its expansion. Never-
gencos reflects the need to pare down coal-fired theless, China’s continued reliance on coal is
power dependence, as the central government unlikely to be affected greatly.™
pushes for higher consumption of renewable

Jinko Solar commits to 100% renewables

CHINA CHINA’S Jinko Solar has become the latest use at all its facilities, investing in energy effi-
global company to publish an ambitious green ciency upgrades, energy saving gauges and
target, committing to being 100% powered by smart-building technologies.
renewables by 2025. The strategy also calls for changes to the
The New-York listed solar module manufac- manufacturing process to reduce energy con-
turer has unveiled its RE100 roadmap, which is sumption, such using and recycling alternative
to reduce the carbon footprint of the company’s materials. The company aims to “lighterise”
manufacturing operations, and to put pressure and “thinnerise” production, for instance by
on its suppliers to do the same. reducing wafer thickness, reducing silver paste
The company’s factories are the central pivot consumption without sacrificing quality and
of the strategy, with the company promising to reliability and reducing the weight of bifa-
invest more in rooftop onsite solar and solar plus cial panels by replacing glass with transparent
storage projects on all its buildings. backsheet.
Jinko Solar, which led the global solar PV Lastly, the strategy aims to embed sustainabil-
module market in 2019, shipping out 14.2 GW ity across the supply chain, using it to guide deci-
of solar PV modules, wants to ensure that 50% sions ranging from product design and factory
of the consumed solar electricity at its facilities floor configuration to sourcing and logistics.
comes from projects that it has developed, rather Chinese manufacturers such as Jinko Solar
than from the grid. are expected to continue to dominate the global
At its R&D, attention is to focus on innova- solar installations in 2020, according to a report
tive silicon solar panel recycling technology, with in February 2020 from Globaldata. However,
more partnership with universities and institu- Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle
tions at home and abroad to develop engineering East are also emerging as manufacturing centres.
solutions. As well as a supplier, Jinko Solar also has
“We’re proud of our ambitious roadmap we equity positions in many solar projects, such as
have set for the coming ten years,” said Dany the 1,177-MW Noor Abu Dhabi Solar PV IPP
Qian, vice-president of JinkoSolar. project in Abu Dhabi, which it is developing with
“As the world’s largest solar module manu- Abu Dhabi Power.
facturer, it doesn’t make sense that we produce Jinko is also part of a consortium that has
renewable equipment but not use renewable made a record-breaking low bid for the Emirates
energy ourselves. We are well positioned to lead Water and Electricity Co.’s (EWEC) 1.5-GW Al
the industry in the pursuit of giving the next Dhafra solar project.
generation a liveable planet, an affordable and The world’s top 10 module manufacturers,
sustainable energy solution.” led mainly by the Asia-Pacific region, especially
As well as new generation sources, the com- China, delivered 80.3 GW in 2019, according to
pany aims to identify new ways to lower energy a report from GlobalData.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 32 12•August•2020