Solar farm taps crowd funding for 10m yuan project
State-backed firm teams up with online finance sector to fund off-grid solar facility in Qianhai
United Photovoltaics Group, controlled by state-backed finance-to-logistics conglomerate China Merchants Group, aims to raise 10 million yuan (HK$12.7 million) through what it claims to be the world's first megawatt-scale, off-power-grid solar farm project funded by an internet "crowd fundraising" platform.
The Hong Kong-listed firm has teamed up with Guodian Solar, the solar farm arm of state-owned power generator China Guodian, and online crowd-fundraising firm China Net Credit Finance.
The first project will raise 10 million yuan for a one megawatt (MW) off-grid solar farm in Qianhai, Shenzhen. Qianhai is a special zone designated by the central government for pilot liberalisation of the financial industry, such as offshore yuan business.
"This is a landmark development for the solar power industry as it works together with the online finance sector for the first time to build the world's first megawatt-scale, off-grid solar farm in Qianhai, at the forefront of China's finance sector reform," United said in a statement.
Although 1MW is a drop in the bucket compared to Beijing's target for the mainland to add 14,000MW of installed solar farms this year, United chairman Alan Li Yuan said online crowd-fundraising had huge potential as a powerful project finance tool that would help fulfil its business and social responsibility objectives.