Emission control efforts bring business chances
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Li Zongwei, chief financial officer of a solar energy company, was passionate while talking about the company's plan.
"We are planning to expand our production capacity of over 700 megawatt (MW) per year by 2011, with 600 MW at our headquarters and 100 MW at another base in Hainan Province, to increase its nameplate capacity to 1.7 gigawatt (GW) PV modules for higher demand."
Li was talking in Beijing at the Global Green Think Tank Summit, an event held from Monday to Thursday to promote low-carbon economy with the theme of "the age of low-carbon economy: opportunities in a global emerging market".
"We have won the 10 MW bid for the solar power plant of Dunhuang Project in Gansu Province, and are further exploring the domestic market," he said, "We believe that the market expansion would be more exponential than it is now."
Founded in 1987 in Baoding, Hebei Province, Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. has taken 10 percent of the world's solar market, according to Li.
He is very optimistic about China's new energy market, which has the central government's support.
The government has accelerated the construction of solar, hydropower, nuclear, and wind power capacities. The solar power capacity soared to 300 MW in 2009.
According to the country's long and mid-term development plan, the figure is expected to reach 1.8 GW by 2020.
Furthermore, based on the proposal for China's twelfth "Five-year Program" which was released by the Communist Party of China in late October, China should make the reduction of energy consumption intensity and carbon dioxide emission "binding goals" in the 2011-15 period.
"In fact, the government's support for new energy is more instructive and directional," Li said, "We are more likely to get financing, and constructions projects are more likely to cooperate with us under the influence of our government."
Christopher Huang, managing director of Morgan Stanley Asia, said, "new energies such as solar and wind power have become key investment areas for us, as we have seen the great efforts the Chinese government has done in emission control."
Tang Bin, executive director of China's Industrial Bank (IB), said it should be a combination of business and social responsibility for a banker to allocate capital to support environmental protection for the sake of sustainable development.
The IB is the first Chinese financial institution to adopt "Equator Principles," a voluntary set of guidelines that require signatory banks to consider environmental and social issues when providing financing services.
Huang Huikang, special representative for climate change negotiations of China's Foreign Ministry, said at the summit that the government would continue to earmark large funds in the development of new energy, new material, and new technologies, which would definitely provide business opportunities.
"The global climate change not only requires companies and individuals to take responsibility, but also provides great opportunities, and insightful entrepreneurs should grasp the perfect chance," said Huang.
Supported by the UN Climate Change Team and the UN Youth Office, the summit was co-organized by the International Green Economy Association, Global Green Think-Tank Club, Global Youth Council on Climate Change and Sustainability and Global Sustainable Leaders Development Institute.
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