The deal was signed in the Chinese State Council building with government officials in attendance and represents the country's largest CSP project. Groundbreaking of the first 92 MW will take place in 2010.
"Using the power of the sun, eSolar's technology minimises the environmental impact on manufacturing and deployment while maximising land and cost efficiency," said Liu Guangyu, chairman and CEO of Penglai Electric. "We are extremely grateful to the Chinese government for playing a major role in promoting zero-carbon renewable energy."
Penglai Electric plans to develop 2 GW of power plants by 2021 using eSolar's proven solar thermal technology. The solar thermal power plants will be co-located with biomass electricity generation facilities. Penglai Electric will leverage local manufacturing to source some of the equipment. In total, the plants will eliminate 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
"With Penglai as our partner and with the strong support of the Chinese government, eSolar is proud to be the first company to deliver the benefits of cost-effective solar thermal power to China," said Bill Gross, founder and chairman of eSolar.
China Huadian Engineering Co. will lead the construction process. On completion, China Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy Co. will own and operate the first 92 MW plant.
"To date, eSolar offers the only CSP tower technology that has demonstrated commercial maturity and economic feasibility," added Zhao Weikang, chairman and president of Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy Co. "We're excited to build our initial hybrid plant as part of the 170-square kilometer Yulin Alternative Energy Park, the first large scale alternative energy park in China. Our work is aligned with the government's continuing policy to curb carbon emissions and combat climate change."
China is currently the market leader in the PV manufacturing industry, but this agreement represents the country's first major move into concentrating solar thermal power. The Chinese government recently announced its aggressive plans to increase the country's renewable power generation capacity to 15% by 2020.
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