Huadian to plug into Xinjiang
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China Huadian Group will invest more than 100 billion yuan ($14.73 billion) in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region over the next decade to set up power plants, a new move to boost the region's economy, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday.
China Huadian Corporation, one of China's top five State-owned power enterprises, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the government of northwest China's Xinjiang region to jointly develop its power grid over the next 10 years.
"Huadian is providing reliable and better electricity and heat supply for Xinjiang's economic and social development," said Li Qingkui, party secretary and vice president of China Huadian Group. "The company will enhance investment for the region's future development."
According to the agreement, Huadian will start construction of coal-fired power plants in the eastern Zhungar Basin, Tuha Basin and Yili area. Generation capacity of the coal-fired power plant is to reach 8 million kilowatts by 2015.
And by 2020, the installed coal-fired generation capacity will climb to 15 million kilowatts in the region.
In addition to the coal-fired power plants, China Huadian plans to build renewable energy bases and wind power projects in Xinjiang to meet the country's clean energy consumption target.
According to the 11th Five- Year Plan (2006-10), China will cut its energy consumption by 20 percent from 2005 levels by the end of 2010. And new laws on renewable energy took effect in January, stressing the development and usage of clean energy, especially solar and wind power.
Huadian will spend 15 billion yuan ($1.87 billion) on building wind power projects with a combined installed capacity of two million kilowatts in Turpan Basin.
"That will be the largest wind power project ever built in China," Yang Ming, deputy general manager of the Xinjiang subsidiary of China Huadian, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Xinjiang's wind power plants only produce 180,000 kilowatts as of the end of last year, still accounting for nearly a quarter of the nation's total.
Since early this year, Xinjiang has received a series of preferential policies and economic aid from the central government, which vows to boost the region's economic development.
"Xinjiang's weak economy and prominent ethnic conflicts have led the Chinese government to use economic policies to achieve political stability," said Yang Hong, a Shanghai-based analyst with the Oriental Oil and Gas Network.
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