Energy

China Longyuan to spend $13b to lead wind power league

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-10 13:21

China Longyuan Power Group Corp plans to spend about 92 billion yuan ($13 billion) over the next five years to become the world's No 1 wind-power producer as global demand for clean energy increases.

The Hong Kong-listed company aims to install at least 16,000 megawatts of wind turbines in China and overseas by 2015, President Xie Changjun said in an interview after a climate conference in Beijing today.

The expansion plan comes as the Chinese government encourages the use of renewable energy to cut reliance on more polluting coal. The Beijing-based company in December raised a net HK$16.7 billion ($2.2 billion) from the sale of 2.14 billion shares in Hong Kong in the world's third-biggest IPO by an alternative energy company.

"China so far has used only about 1 percent of its total estimated wind power resources and there is vast potential for future growth," Xie said. "We are also looking at opportunities overseas, including in South Africa, the US, Australia and Europe," he said.

Global investment in renewable energy surged 31 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, driven by wind power and demand in China, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said on April 12.

China Longyuan ranks fifth globally by wind-power capacity and plans to be third by 2012, according to Xie. The company had 4,503 megawatts of capacity last year and may have 6,500 megawatts by the end of this year, it said in March.

China Longyuan's shares fell 0.6 percent to HK$7.81 in Hong Kong trading on May 7, the stock's lowest level since listing. It has dropped 13 percent since its Dec 10 debut, compared with an 8.2 percent decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Increased profit

China Longyuan may issue bonds in the domestic market to raise funds, Xie said without elaborating. The wind-farm operator's profit more than double last year to 894 million yuan from 337 million yuan as it expanded capacity, it said on March 30.

China's domestic wind-power developers may see increased profit because of lower turbine installation costs and government-set fixed tariffs, Xie said. The cost to China Longyuan to erect each kilowatt of wind turbines may fall about 10 percent to 8,000 yuan this year because of "intense competition" in the manufacturing sector, he said.

China, the world's biggest polluter, burns coal to produce about 80 percent of its electricity and wants at least 15 percent of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Overseas rivals

China Longyuan purchases turbines from domestic suppliers whose prices are about 20 percent less than those of their overseas rivals, according to Xie. Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co and Sinovel Wind Group Co are among the largest suppliers to China Longyuan, Xie said.

"If foreign manufacturers want to boost their market share in China, they need to cut costs and reduce prices," Xie said.

The company hopes to see carbon markets set up in China after 2012 to boost renewable energy development, he said.

The Chinese government is considering establishing exchanges for carbon trading in selected areas, as a nationwide market looks unlikely for the moment, Gao Guangsheng, director of the National Coordination Committee Office on Climate Change under the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the conference today. The plans aren't completed yet, Gao said, without giving details.

The lack of industry professionals may be a challenge for China's domestic wind-power developers, the executive said today, without providing specifics.