Shunfeng to quadruple solar generating capacity after acquiring Wuxi Suntech
Following its acquisition of Wuxi Suntech last year, the mainland firmplans to quadruple its power generating capacity by building newfarms
Shunfeng Photovoltaic International, a solar farm developer controlled by Cheng Kin-ming, aims to quadruple its solar power generating capacity this year after acquiring Wuxi Suntech, a bankrupt maker of solar panels.
Shunfeng chairman Zhang Yi said the company aimed to build 3 gigawatts of solar farms this year. It has 0.89GW of installed solar capacity connected to the power grid.
"We aim to add 3GW in each of this year, next year and 2016, so that by the end of 2016 we will have 10GW," Zhang said yesterday.
He estimated that it would cost between 24 billion yuan (HK$30.7 billion) and 27 billion yuan to add 9GW over the next three years.
Zhang said the company was confident of being able to finance the ambitious expansion, since it had been able to fund 80 per cent of the installation costs for past projects through bank loans and the rest using its own funds.
"We already have 1.3 billion yuan of lines of credit outside the mainland and over 1 billion yuan from mainland banks, while several other banks are soliciting to lend to us," he said.
Although the central government has ordered banks not to provide funds to sectors suffering from overcapacity, including generic solar panels, parts and raw materials manufacturing, it encourages them to finance clean energy projects such as wind and solar farms to cut the mainland's reliance on dirty-burning coal as air pollution in major cities worsens.