China is dropping a requirement that 70 percent of wind turbines used in the country be made domestically, according to Bloomberg.
The decision was apparently driven by a desire to get the best turbine technology, which generally comes from Europe, into the country.
Is there a political angle here too? Read More »
China’s A-Power Energy Group and equity group U.S. Renewable Energy Group have announced plans to build a wind turbine production and assembly plant in the United States capable of producing 1,100 MW of turbines annually.
The announcement comes two weeks after Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) demanded the Obama administration deny stimulus funding to a $1.5 billion 600 MW wind farm in Texas because the turbines would be supplied by A-Power.
It is also the second announcement that a Chinese manufacturer would set up shop in the United States in as many days. Suntech Power Holdings officials said on Sunday that they plan to build a plant in Arizona that will have an initial capacity of 30 MW of PV panel.
That deal, however, is much further along. The new wind turbine venture does specify a site for the plant and is contingent on government approvals and further deals between the parties.
The statement from Renewable Energy Group Managing Partner Ed Cunningham is right out of the green stimulus playbook. Read More »
Take that Chuck Schumer.
Chinese solar power company Suntech Power Holdings has announced plans to build a plant in the greater Phoenix area that will employ 75 people when it opens.
The plant is lated to come online in the third quarter of 2010 and will have a capacity of 30 MW of PV panels.
The announcement should blunt some of the criticism, notably by Sen. Schumer, D-NY, that China is supplying the American renewable energy market with products made by Chinese workers. Schumer was upset by news that foreign cleantech companies were getting American stimulus funds.
Suntech’s announcement makes no mention of an application for stimulus funds. The company is applying for a 30 percent manufacturing tax credit under the federal stimulus program.
The release does not specify the cost of construction, but BusinessWeek estimates the 80,000 to 100,000 square foot facility will run to the tens of millions of dollars.
Suntech Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Zhengrong Shi said: Read More »
Here are three stories we’ll be watching this week:
1. Late last week, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu to reject a request for $450 million in stimulus funds for a Chinese-backed wind project in Texas. The wind turbines for the $1.5 billion, 600 megawatt farm would be manufactured by China’s A-Power Energy Generation Systems.
But wait, the venture doesn’t involve stimulus funds, A-Power’s Chief Operating Officer told Bloomberg. Project funding will be arranged through Chinese banks by Shenyang Power Group, a 49 percent owner of the wind farm. Read More »
Barely a week after it was announced, a $1.5 billion, Chinese-backed 600-megawatt Texas wind farm is in hot water.
In a letter released today, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) urged Energy Secretary Steven Chu and the Obama administration to deny the wind project’s Chinese backers stimulus funds — they were seeking $450 million in government money – to finance a portion of the project.
Is Senator Schumer’s letter a first salvo on the way to hearings? A spokesman with the senator’s Washington office tells us that’s not likely. “We’re sending the letter for now in the hopes that the secretary would deny the funding,” he explains.
In his letter to Secretary Chu, Schumer writes (scroll below for a full copy of the letter):
The idea that stimulus funds would be used to create jobs overseas is quite troubling and, therefore, I urge you to reject any request for stimulus money unless the high-value components, including the wind turbines, are manufactured in the United States.
