China Cementing Global Dominance of Renewable Energy and Technology

[JSCh]

Feature: China-backed solar-power plant settles atop remote mountain peak in Argentina
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-02 13:10:25|Editor: Li Xia

Aerial photo taken on July 11, 2018 shows the solar-power plant project of the Shanghai Electric Power Construction Company (SEPC) near Cauchari, a town in the province of Jujuy, Argentina. (Xinhua/SEPC)

by Victoria Arguello

SAN SALVADOR DE JUJUY, Argentina, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Atop a remote mountain peak in northernmost Argentina, workers were laying the groundwork of a Chinese-financed solar-power plant.

They were working with the Shanghai Electric Power Construction Company (SEPC) for the project located at the peak 4,000 meters above sea level near Cauchari, a town in the province of Jujuy, which borders Chile and Bolivia.

The plant at the peak is ideal for capturing sunlight via three solar parks and is expected to cut both energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions by at least 325,000 tons, and help boost clean energy and drive development in this far-flung region.

"All the energy produced by the new solar parks will go to the national power grid," Micaela Goni, general manager of Talesun Energy Argentina, the company which develops the project, told Xinhua on a tour to the site.

The Jujuy provincial government signed an agreement with SEPC in mid-2017 to help increase the province's revenues and provide power to isolated highland communities.

"Jujuy is going to sell the energy to the national government and ... following this example, Jujuy is already developing small solar parks in more distant small communities throughout Puna," Goni said, referring to northern Argentina's desert plateau region.

Residents of these towns and villages are not only benefiting from the employment opportunities provided by the Chinese-Argentinian joint project, but also from a stable energy supply, which will reduce local migration to the country's capital city of Buenos Aires and other major cities.

Being built in stages, the 600-acre (about 243-hectare) solar plant will generate 750,000 megawatt-hours (Mwh) in its first year of operation, with a lifespan of 25 years. The solar panels are expected to be installed by March 2019, with the facility being operational by fall 2020.

The solar project and other infrastructure projects in Argentina and the rest of Latina America are a natural extension of the Belt and Road Initiative, a China-proposed global development plan to drive world economic growth through stronger trade and connectivity.

"In this project, China has been there every step of the way ... to accompany Argentine professionals and those from other countries who are spearheading the project. We have formed a great Chinese and Argentinian team," Goni said.

Jorge Delgado, a civil engineer with the Spanish-Argentine company TSI, which is also involved in the project, stressed the need to move away from polluting fossil fuels and develop more clean energy.

"This is the future. We are eliminating a good amount of polluting carbon dioxide and have to go after alternative renewable energy sources," said Delgado.

"We have the right conditions, the best conditions worldwide, and I think that is what we have to bet on for the future of our children," Delgado added.

The solar-power plant calls for an investment of 390 million U.S. dollars, with 85 percent financed by China and the remaining 15 percent coming from Jujuy's provincial government.

Once the plant is in full swing, it is expected to generate some 1,500 direct and indirect local jobs.

​

 

[JSCh]

Focus: More Energy from Ocean Waves
September 7, 2018• Physics 11, 89
A new structure concentrates water wave motion and could lead to improved techniques for harvesting this renewable energy resource.

​

C. Li et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. (2018)
Not making waves. With 10 cm of water in the tank, waves striking this structure can triple in height by the time they reach the central zone, while at the same time, hardly any reflected waves are generated. (See videos below.)

Ocean waves contain lots of energy that could be harvested, especially if methods for energy extraction could be improved. Now researchers have demonstrated a new type of structure that concentrates the energy of passing waves into a smaller area, thereby making energy harvesting easier. With further development, the technique could soon find practical deployment in offshore wave energy projects.

---> Physics - Focus: More Energy from Ocean Waves

Concentrators for Water Waves
Chunyang Li, Lin Xu, Lili Zhu, Siyuan Zou, Qing Huo Liu, Zhenyu Wang, and Huanyang Chen
Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 104501 (2018)
Published September 7, 2018​

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1038956272165343232

China Xinhua News ‏Verified account @XHNews
Photovoltaic power station in desert: To take advantage of abundant sunshine, Zhongwei in NW China's Ningxia sets up a photovoltaic power industry chain

9:04 AM - 10 Sep 2018

 

[JSCh]

Feature: Argentina's solar plant project showcases Chinese technology
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-11 11:43:55|Editor: ZX

by Victoria Arguello

SAN SALVADOR DE JUJUY, Argentina, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technician Qi Hong landed in Buenos Aires two years ago with only a vague notion of what Argentina was like. But he was clear about his objective: sharing China's technological progress with a key trade partner.

"After my experience here, I sense there are very good ties between the two countries," said Qi, adding: "I want to further improve the relationship through our project (and) teach Argentinians about our culture and advanced technology."

Qi and his fellow technicians traveled to Argentina's northern Jujuy Province, where they have been building the Cauchari photovoltaic (PV) plant with technology and financing from Shanghai Electric Power Construction (SEPC).

Located in the heart of Argentina's high plains, more than 4,000 meters above sea level, Cauchari will boost the country's clean energy and cut down harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 325,000 tons.

But the bilateral project -- part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative to develop global infrastructure and promote international trade -- goes beyond the transfer of technology to promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between the two distant cultures.

"Now I know this culture better. I used to know Argentina only through the media," said Qi, who comes from China's northeast Hebei Province.

Since 2017, Jujuy has hosted a group of 25 young Chinese employees of SEPC, including civil and electrical engineers, builders, designers and interpreters.

Most of them reside in a house in the provincial capital San Salvador de Jujuy. Just steps away are the project's offices, where the Chinese work side by side with their local counterparts, as well as experts from Spain, Italy, Peru and other parts, who are involved in the plant's construction.

According to Wang Tieshan, who came from central China's Henan Province to work on the project, the Belt and Road Initiative is providing opportunities for "the world to find out about China's advanced technologies and hardware."

At the same time, it is helping foster political and cultural ties between China and South America's second-largest economy, he said.

The solar plant, which is set to become operational next year, is expected to create about 1,500 direct and indirect jobs, linking an even larger community with the Chinese-backed project.

 

[JSCh]

Photovoltaic power station built on abandoned mine in E China's Zhejiang
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-26 16:37:45|Editor: Yurou


Aerial photo taken on Sept. 26, 2018 shows a photovoltaic power station built on the site of an abandoned mine in Donghong Village of Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

 

[JSCh]

Buses of the future pick up 1st passengers
Ke Jiayun 01:30 UTC+8, 2018-09-28

Six hydrogen fuel cell buses started running route No. 114 in Jiading District yesterday, the first fuel cell buses in the city.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are zero-emission. The yellow and white buses, developed by local car makers SAIC Motor and Sunwin, carry 21 kilograms of hydrogen, have a range of 560 kilometers and emit nothing but water. Conventional electric buses have a range of 200 kilometers and require six hours for charging. It only takes a few minutes to refill with hydrogen.

The floors of the new buses are much lower than conventional buses and considered barrier-free.

Fuel cell buses are not cheap. There is a lack of refueling stations, and hydrogen is not the most inexpensive of fuels.

The city has set goals for fuel cell vehicles. By 2020, it plans to have built five to 10 hydrogen stations and two demonstration sites with some 3,000 fuel cell vehicles running in the city. By 2025, there will be 50 hydrogen stations and no less than 30,000 fuel cell vehicles.

Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE
A worker is refueling a fuel cell bus with hydrogen.

Source: SHINE Editor: Zhang Shunyi

 

[JSCh]

Chinese, Ukrainian firms launch construction of solar plant in Ukraine
新华社| 2018-10-05 05:41:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan


NIKOPOL, Ukraine, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and Ukraine's largest private energy holding Donbas Fuel and Energy Company (DTEK) officially started the construction of a solar power plant in Ukraine on Thursday.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the project took place near Nikopol city in central Dnipropetrovsk region.

While speaking with Xinhua at the ceremony, Maksym Timchenko, chairman of the DTEK, said that the project is a "landmark event" for the Ukrainian energy sector.

"This would be the largest solar power station not only in Ukraine, but also at the European scale," Timchenko said.

During the ceremony, a first solar panel, which was developed by the Chinese company Seraphim Solar System and delivered to Ukraine via the sea, was installed at the facility.

Totally, 750,000 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels produced by Seraphim Solar System and another Chinese company Trina Solar will be set up on the 400-hectare solar farm.

Besides, the plant will incorporate 80 inverter stations with 160 PV inverters manufactured by the China-based Shenzhen Kstar Science and Technology.

The estimated cost of the solar station is 230 million euro (about 265 million U.S. dollars). The project is funded by the DTEK's own funds and by a loan from the CMEC. It is scheduled to be completed at the beginning of next year.

"I believe that the successful cooperation of the CMEC and the DTEK will enable the Chinese and Ukrainian workers to show their excellent skills. We sincerely wish this project will be completed according to the schedule," said Cao Qing, CMEC's project manager of Nikopol plant.

Once commissioned, the solar farm with a total capacity of 200 megawatts of power will provide electricity to about 160,000 households, contributing to Ukraine's green development.

"For Ukraine, this project is important because it moves the country closer to energy independence. Ukraine has a strategy for the development of alternative energy, under which the country plans to generate 11 percent of electricity from green sources by the end of 2019. We are making a great contribution to the implementation of this strategy," Oleg Solovey, the director of Nikopol plant, told Xinhua.

Solovey added that the construction of the plant will also play an important role in improving the ecological situation in the region as it will reduce harmful CO2 emissions by about 300,000 tons annually.

 

[JSCh]

China's farthest offshore wind farm is under construction in the Yellow Sea
CGTN
Published on Oct 4, 2018

China's farthest offshore wind farm is being built in the Yellow Sea off the coast of eastern China's Yancheng City. The farm is scheduled to be completed by the end of November and it is expected to generate 870 million kwh of electricity per year.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1048224289793744896

 

[JSCh]

Milestone:First Chinese CSP Demonstration Project-CGN Delingha 50MW Parabolic Trough Plant Connected To The Grid.
Wu, catherine 2 days ago

Reported from CSPPLAZA：On the evening of 30th,June, China’s first commercial-scale CSP project, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Delingha 50MW parabolic trough CSP station was successfully connected to the grid,achieving the planned target of grid connection.

Until now, China’s power grid system has been connected with a new member. The first batch of China’s demonstration projects has also made its first milestone of the first CSP station to be connected to the network,making China officially become the eighth country in the world with large scale CSP station.

The EPC of solar Island is a Consortium of Beijing Shouhang IHW Resources Saving Technology Co., Ltd. & Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd.of Power China; EPC of Heat island is Shandong Sunway Petrochemical Engineering Share Co., Ltd.；and EPC of the conventional island is Northwest Electric Power Design Institute Co.,Ltd. of Power China.

The project is the first CSP project supported by the ADB preferential loan,according to their requirement , the project takes Public bidding on the global scale，overseas companies like Idom\Aries\Ingeteam\Rioglass\ ABB has participated in this project.


Milestone:First Chinese CSP Demonstration Project-CGN Delingha 50MW Parabolic Trough Plant Connected To The Grid. – CSPPLAZA

China commercially operates 1st large-scale CSP project today | CSP Focus
2018.10.10 From: CSP Focus光略咨询

China Guangdong Nuclear Power(CGN), the project owner and developer just launched a press release, officially announcing that CGN Delingha 50MW parabolic trough concentratedsolar power (CSP) plant, as China first large-scale commercial CSP project, starts commercial operation today on October 10th, 2018.

Mr. Li Yilun, General Manager of CGN New Energy Holding and Mr. Wang Zhigang, General Manager of CGN New Energy Delingha Company presented the conference and shared the great news with China key media audience and introduced the milestones of the project.

As CSP Focus reported earlier, the project was successfully connected to the grid on June 30. And three months later it is able to commercially realize full operation, indicating that China owns its 1st large-scale commercial CSP plant in operation.

It is absolutely a great milestonefor China CSP industry, which entitles China the 8th country in the world owning large-scale commercial CSP project. And the CGN Delingha plant is also amongst China 1st batch of 20 pilot projects and now the first with full completion.

Relevant Free Report: CGN Delingha 50MW Parabolic Trough CSP Project Report

This is a landmark for CGN's solar-thermal energy development after more than ten years of development, Li said during the news conference held in Beijing on Wednesday today.

According to Li, CGN's solar power business, after more than ten years' development, currently covers 29 provinces nationwide, with an installed capacity exceeding 2.58 million kilowatts that ranks third across the country.

Li said compared with photovoltaic power, the concentrated solar power (CSP) features continuous and steady generation of electricity, enjoying greater development potential.

CGN has also been foraying in other forms of new energy in recent years in addition to nuclear power, including the country's first large scale offshore wind power project in Shanghai, he said.

Built on a sparsely populated plateau, 3,000 meters above sea level, the Delingha power plant occupies an area of 2.46 square kilometers (246 hectares). The plant was first connects to grid on June 30.

More information on CGN Delingha CSP plant, you are also welcome to join the upcoming CSP Focus Innovation 2018（Oct.25-26, Xi'an, China）, where you will have the opportunity to communicate with senior executives from CGN Solar face-to-face.

The project was officially broken ground in the year of 2014, and the only CSP project in China getting loan from Asian Development Bank. With total investment of RMB 1.938 billion, the project is equipped with 9 hours molten salt thermal energy storage.

Chinese companies Beijing Shouhang IHW Energy Saving & SEPCOII and Shandong Sunway Petrochemical Engineering Co., Ltd joined the project as EPCs of solar field and HTF&TES respectively. Other local involvers include Dongfang Turbine, Harbin Turbine, Wuxi Chemical Equipment,Co., Ltd etc. And global leading CSP companies like TSK, IDOM, sbp, Rioglass, Solutia, Sulzer also provided components and services for CGN Delingha CSP project.

More details on the project, please visit:

CSP Focus database: CGN Delingha 50MW Thermal Oil Parabolic Trough project

At an altitude of 3,000 meters, the project owns 190 loops with more than 9,000 SCEs, consisting of 250,000 pieces of reflectors with a total area of 620,000 square meters.

Molten salt tanks in TES&HTF island own an diameter of 42 meters, the longest in Asia

Joseph Jacobelli, a senior analyst of Asian utilities at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the commissioning of the CGN New Energy project is evidence that Chinese electricity producers remain very keen on developing clean energy.

“Chinese power producers are all seeking more advanced solutions,” said Jacobelli.

“We would expect that companies such CGN New Energy will continue to seek out more advanced wind, solar and energy storage technologies in coming years.”

Chances are high that these Chinese clean energy companies will continue expanding in the clean energy sectors abroad in coming years, as many companies are stepping up their performance in overseas markets, actively investing in assets abroad buoyed by the China-led Belt and Road Initiative, he added.

According to Wang Zhigang, the solar power project located on the plateau with cold temperatures and oxygen deficiency is capable of producing some 200 million kilowatt hours annually and replace more than 60,000 tons of standard coal each year and 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission every year.

The main part of the project commenced construction in August 2015, and is the country's first solar power plant connected to the power grid. It was also the first solar thermal power project that received a preferential loan from the Asian Development Bank, said the company.

 

[JSCh]

China to formulate roadmap for dev. of hydrogen energy industry
Xinhua Finance in BEIJING
2018-10-12 14:32

China will study and formulate a roadmap for high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry, according to Wang Siqiang, an official of the National Energy Administration on Thursday.

Wang made the remarks at the 2018 China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Industry Forum in south China's Haikou City.

At the same time, a number of demonstration projects will be launched to promote the diversified applications of the hydrogen energy, such as the integration of hydrogen energy and renewable energy, fuel cells distributed generation, hydrogen storage and hydrogen fuel cell transportation, said Wang.

The country will quicken the pace to make breakthroughs in key technical equipment such as fuel cells, and improve relevant technical standards and testing, certification and supervision systems, Wang added.

In recent years, the development of hydrogen energy in China has been on the rise. Some local authorities have formulated the plans for development of the hydrogen energy, in succession.

The vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells have been rolled out and a batch of domestic automobile enterprises have achieved the production of such vehicles in small numbers.

 

[JSCh]

China begins constructing offshore wind farm with biggest installed capacity
Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-16 20:35:10|Editor: Liangyu


GUANGZHOU, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- China has begun constructing an offshore wind-power project with the biggest installed capacity in the country.

The wind farm's first turbine was installed Monday in waters off Nanpeng Isle of the city of Yangjiang, south China's Guangdong Province. The project, with a planned installed capacity of 400,000 kilowatts, is expected to generate about 1.46 billion kwh of electricity annually when it goes on stream in 2020, according to its developer, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN).

"As a coastal province, Guangdong enjoys abundant wind resources," said Chen Yabin with CGN. "Wind farms will play an important role in adjusting the province's industrial and energy structure, so as to promote green and high-quality development."

Guangdong plans to build 23 offshore wind farms before 2030, wth the combined installed capacity to hit 66.85 million kilowatts.

Wind has become China's third largest power source after coal and hydro. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China ranked the third in terms of the total installed capacity of offshore wind turbines, accounting for 11 percent of the world's total as of the end of 2016, after Britain and Germany.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese researchers develop new technique for low-cost solar cells
Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-29 13:02:12|Editor: Yang Yi


LANZHOU, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have developed a new photovoltaic technique that could improve the efficiency of solar cells and reduce their cost.

The new technique uses high-efficiency hole-and-electron-selective layers for both polarities on silicon substrate, which could improve the efficiency of solar cells to 15.1 percent, said Peng Shanglong, head of a research team at Lanzhou University in northwest China's Gansu Province.

He added that the new technique would allow the potential model of solar cells to avoid high-temperature processes, which makes it low-cost and efficient.

"Because of high equipment costs and complex techniques, traditional solar cells have long been limited in use on a large scale," Peng said. "It's of practical value to develop a new model of solar cells."

The findings have been published on Nano Energy, a major journal covering the science and engineering of nanomaterials and nanodevices.

 

[JSCh]

Shenzhen Energy to Build Two 400,000-KW Wind Farms in Inner Mongolia
TANG SHIHUA
DATE: THU, 11/01/2018 - 19:37 / SOURCE:YICAI

Shenzhen Energy to Build Two 400,000-KW Wind Farms in Inner Mongolia​

(Yicai Global) Nov. 1 -- Shenzhen Energy Group will invest in and construct two 400,000-kilowatt wind power projects in Xilingol League in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region through its local subsidiary. The company will also build an energy storage facility to supply heat to locals with electricity generated by under-utilized wind resources.

Investment in one project in the Bordered Yellow Banner of Xilingol League will be CNY3.1 billion (USD400 million), of which CNY612 million (USD87.4 million) is self-financed, with the rest to come from other funding sources, per a recent announcement from the Guangdong province-based developer of energy from both fossil and renewable resources.

Another project in Taipusi Banner of Xilingol League will have investment projected at CNY3.2 billion, with the company to contribute CNY640 million and finance the rest, the announcement stated.

The local governments have approved both projects. The on-grid power will be sent to North China and East China through ultra-high voltage channels, per the announcement.

Shenzhen Energy is also planning a 48,000-KW facility using both heat and wind power to store energy and provide local people with central heating and wind electricity.

Investment of CNY442.4 million is planned for the project, including CNY424 million for the wind farms and CNY19 million for the heating projects, the announcement added.

 

[TaiShang]

Shenzhen Energy to Build Two 400,000-KW Wind Farms in Inner Mongolia
TANG SHIHUA
DATE: THU, 11/01/2018 - 19:37 / SOURCE:YICAI

Shenzhen Energy to Build Two 400,000-KW Wind Farms in Inner Mongolia​

(Yicai Global) Nov. 1 -- Shenzhen Energy Group will invest in and construct two 400,000-kilowatt wind power projects in Xilingol League in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region through its local subsidiary. The company will also build an energy storage facility to supply heat to locals with electricity generated by under-utilized wind resources.

Investment in one project in the Bordered Yellow Banner of Xilingol League will be CNY3.1 billion (USD400 million), of which CNY612 million (USD87.4 million) is self-financed, with the rest to come from other funding sources, per a recent announcement from the Guangdong province-based developer of energy from both fossil and renewable resources.

Another project in Taipusi Banner of Xilingol League will have investment projected at CNY3.2 billion, with the company to contribute CNY640 million and finance the rest, the announcement stated.

The local governments have approved both projects. The on-grid power will be sent to North China and East China through ultra-high voltage channels, per the announcement.

Shenzhen Energy is also planning a 48,000-KW facility using both heat and wind power to store energy and provide local people with central heating and wind electricity.

Investment of CNY442.4 million is planned for the project, including CNY424 million for the wind farms and CNY19 million for the heating projects, the announcement added.

Inner Mongolia (as well as Mongolia) has great clean energy potential. It is already been explored. There is energy grid connectivity between Mongolia and China.

With this, more storage facilities must be set up to store and transmit energy when there is demand.

 

[JSCh]

This ‘two-faced’ membrane can create electricity—from nothing but salty water
By Frankie Schembri
Oct. 26, 2018 , 2:00 PM

Imagine being stuffed into a crowded train car and noticing a less crowded one just down the platform. You’d probably want to move over as soon as possible. Particles that follow this balancing act—known as osmosis—spontaneously move from an area of high concentration to one of low concentration. Now, scientists have used this tendency to create a power-producing membrane that can harvest electric current from nothing but salty water.

When ionic salts, made of bundles positively and negatively charged particles, dissolve in water, the bundles break apart, leaving positively and negatively charged particles free to participate in osmosis. By placing charged, thin membranes in between salty water and freshwater, scientists can create an expressway for the flowing particles, generating electric current. But these membranes are often expensive to manufacture and they tend to get leaky over time. That lets particles pass back through in the wrong direction, cutting into how much electricity they can produce.

Now, researchers have developed a new kind of gatekeeper—a “two-faced” membrane that has different properties on either side, from the size of the pores to the charge of the membrane itself. This encourages a steady flow of charged particles from one side to the other while preventing them from drifting back in the wrong direction. These so-called Janus membranes, named after the ancient Roman god of gates and passages, can also be manufactured to have different-size pores and hold different charges, allowing them to accept different kinds of particles.

The researchers tested their Janus membranes with salty sea water on one side and fresh river water on the other. They found the devices were able to convert 35.7% of the chemical energy stored in the salty water into useable electricity. That’s as efficient as most wind turbines and higher than most solar cells, they report today in Science Advances.

Next, the researchers plan to build larger membranes and see whether they can withstand the conditions of real sea and river water. If the membrane performs as well in “the wild,” the new membranes could be used to power remote communities with no other sources of renewable energy in just a few years, the researchers say. That suggests that when it comes to harvesting power from moving particles, being a little two-faced is a good thing.

Posted in: Chemistry
doi:10.1126/science.aav8621


This ‘two-faced’ membrane can create electricity—from nothing but salty water | Science | AAAS