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SFCE Aug 14
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Hong Kong company Shunfeng buys majority share of solar startup Suniva
Aug 14, 2015 | Fortune
By Katie Fehrenbacher
The Asian clean energy giant finds a solid way in to the U.S. market. Hong Kong clean energy company Shunfeng has acquired majority share of venture capital-backed solar startup Suniva, based in Georgia. The investment was reportedly $57.8 million for 63.13% of the company. Shunfeng, controlled by billionaire Zheng Jianming... -
Shunfeng to acquire majority stake in Suniva
Aug 13, 2015 | Recharge
By Brian Publicover & Karl-Erik Stromsta
Shunfeng International Clean Energy, the Hong Kong-based owner of Suntech, will acquire Atlanta-based PV cell and module manufacturer Suniva and help it expand its production capacity in the US. Shunfeng will pay $57.8m for a 63.13% stake in privately owned Suniva, through a mixture of cash and shares. -
Shunfeng acquires stake in US manufacturer Suniva
Aug 13, 2015 | PV Magazine (Germany)
By Sandra Enkhardt
The Chinese PV Group now sets apparently continued its buying spree overseas. Shunfeng will hold in the future more than 63 percent of the manufacturer. Suniva announced simultaneously to the expansion of its capacity. Our previous winners topics: electricity tariffs, business models for Mietananlagen and investors, storage containers... -
Shunfeng International takes majority stake in Suniva
Aug 13, 2015 | Atlanta Bussiness Chronicle
Shunfeng International Clean Energy bought a 63.1 percent share of Norcross, Ga.-based solar energy company Suniva Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Suniva also said Thursday it will boost U.S. manufacturing capacity in the United States to more than 400 megawatts. “High demand for our products continues to validate... -
Suniva to Increase U.S. Manufacturing Capacity to Over 400MW
Aug 13, 2015 | Altenergy Mag
Suniva, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced that it has initiated expansion of its U.S. manufacturing capacity, bringing its U.S. total to over 400MW. This expansion is facilitated by the acquisition of a 63.13% share of Suniva by leading global integrated clean energy provider... -
With New Majority Shareholder, Suniva To Ramp Up U.S. Manufacturing
Aug 13, 2015 | Solar Industry
Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority share of PV solar cell and module manufacturer Suniva Inc., which will now expand its manufacturing capacity. SFCE, a clean energy technology company and integrated service solutions provider, will acquire 63.13% equity... -
SF Suntech Australia Sets New Solar Industry Standards, Announces Partnership with Reclaim
Aug 14, 2015 | PR Newswire
SF Suntech Australia announced today the company's partnership with Reclaim PV Recycling, the Australia-based waste management company that focuses on reclaiming PV modules. Suntech was recently awarded the first Reclaim certificate in Australia for recycling 84 of its damaged or nonoperational warranty modules. -
Solar Suntech partners with Reclaim PV Recycling to recycle solar panels
Aug 14, 2015 | Greentech Lead
By Ajith Kumar S
Solar equipment manufacturer Suntech Australia has entered into a partnership with Reclaim PV Recycling, an Australia-based waste management company that reclaims inoperative PV modules. Recently Reclaim had awarded Suntech with a certificate for recycling 84 of its damaged or nonoperational warranty modules. -
Conergy plans trio of Thai solar farms
Aug 14, 2015 | PV Tech
By Liam Stoker
Solar energy developer Conergy has partnered with Symbior Solar group company ATC Enviro to plan three new solar farms for Thailand. The three parks will have a combined capacity of 19MWp and will contribute towards Hong Kong-based Symbior Solar’s growing portfolio in Thailand, which currently comprises six solar ... -
China's State Council Signals Stepped Up Environmental Monitoring
Aug 14, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China will build a nationwide environmental monitoring network by 2020 to more accurately track air, water and soil pollution, the State Council said Aug. 12. The State Council said environmental monitoring today is “incomplete” and “not uniform” and information-sharing and supervision over monitoring has been “chaotic” and not conducted in... -
A Bright Spot in US-China Relations: Renewable Energy
Aug 14, 2015 | The Diplomat
By Michelle Winglee
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington in September comes on the heels of cyber accusations, tensions in the South China Sea, and grumbling about China’s currency devaluation — all just as a new U.S. election cycle starts to kick in, a time notorious for being tough on China. The Obama administration faces ... -
China Air Pollution Kills 4,000 People a Day, Study Says
Aug 14, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alex Morales
Air pollution is killing an average of 4,000 people a day in China, according to researchers who cited coal-burning as the likely principal cause. Deaths related to the main pollutant, tiny particles known as PM2.5s that can trigger heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and asthma, total 1.6 million a year
SFCE/Suniva News
Press Release - SF Suntech Australia Sets New Solar Industry Standards, Announces Partnership with Reclaim
Suntech News
Industry News
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Hong Kong company Shunfeng buys majority share of solar startup Suniva
Aug 14, 2015 | Fortune
By Katie Fehrenbacher
The Asian clean energy giant finds a solid way in to the U.S. market.
Hong Kong clean energy company Shunfeng has acquired majority share of venture capital-backed solar startup Suniva, based in Georgia. The investment was reportedly $57.8 million for 63.13% of the company.
Shunfeng, controlled by billionaire Zheng Jianming, has ambitions to be a major global clean energy player. The company also acquired the manufacturing unit of big solar supplier Suntech out of bankruptcy last year, and has made other investments in energy companies like Boston Power.
The companies announced the news in a press release, and said the deal would enable Suniva to grow the amount of solar cells it makes at its factories in the U.S. Currently Suniva makes its highly-efficient solar cells at facilities in Georgia and Michigan.
Suniva was founded in 2007 using technology from the lab of founder and Chief Technology Officer Ajeet Rohatgi at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The manufacturing tech uses a screen-printing process that uses less polysilicon compared with traditional silicon solar cells. Polysilicon is a high purity form of silicon and is the building block of a silicon solar cell.
The solar cells that Suniva are highly efficient, meaning they can convert large amounts of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. Many solar cells make up a solar panel.
The efficiency of solar cells has become increasingly important in the solar industry, as the cost of solar panels has dropped. Suniva’s solar cells, like Sunpower’s, can be sold for a higher price and can convert more energy with less space than the more standard commodity panels out there.
Shunfeng is interested in Suniva partly because the U.S. has a large and growing solar market. The U.S. is predicted to install 7.9 gigawatts of solar panels this year, up 27% over 2014. One gigawatt is about the size of a large natural gas plant.
Shunfeng can also use Suniva to enter the U.S. market without having to pay trade tariffs, which Chinese solar companies are forced to pay when shipping into the U.S. If Shunfeng sold solar cells from Suntech into the U.S. market, it would face these heavy tariffs.
Over the years Suniva has raised funds from Goldman Sachs, NEA, Warburg-Pincus, Prelude Ventures, HIG Ventures and Advanced Equities.
Suniva says with the expansion and new funds it will create 300 new jobs in the U.S. The funding will also enable Suniva to ramp up production to 400 megawatts of capacity, and eventually 1 gigawatt of capacity.
Link: http://fortune.com/2015/08/13/shunfeng-buys-majority-share-of-suniva/
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Shunfeng to acquire majority stake in Suniva
Aug 13, 2015 | Recharge
By Brian Publicover & Karl-Erik Stromsta
Shunfeng International Clean Energy, the Hong Kong-based owner of Suntech, will acquire Atlanta-based PV cell and module manufacturer Suniva and help it expand its production capacity in the US.
Shunfeng will pay $57.8m for a 63.13% stake in privately owned Suniva, through a mixture of cash and shares.
Suniva will become a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Shunfeng, although Suniva’s existing shareholders – among them Goldman Sachs, Warburg-Pincus, New Enterprise Associates, and Prelude Ventures – will all continue to own stakes.
With Shunfeng behind it, Suniva will more than double its production capacity in the US, from 150MW to 400MW, creating 300 new jobs.
The companies did not specify where the new US capacity would be added. Suniva's headquarters and flagship plant is on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, and last it opened a second US factory in Saginaw, Michigan.
The deal adds to Shunfeng’s long list of companies Suniva has acquired in recent years, from Germany’s Sunways and S.A.G. Solarstrom to China’s Suntech, which was the world’s largest module supplier until its bankruptcy.
Shunfeng cited two reasons for the Suniva acquisition.
Most importantly, it will “enable the company to reap the huge potentials of the solar market in the US”.
Compared to some of its closest Chinese rivals, Suntech faces especially steep trade tariffs in the US, the world’s second largest solar market after China. US tariffs on Chinese cells and modules were recently increased modestly.
The second reason for the acquisition is to give Shunfeng access to Suniva’s high-efficiency cell technology.
Suniva, which in 2007 was spun out of research done at the Georgia Institute of Technology, produces cells with average efficiencies higher than 19%, and in lab settings the figure runs higher than 20%.
Suniva’s modules are especially well suited for rooftops and other space-constrained areas, and its US manufacturing helps the company in going after lucrative government contracts.
The two largest US-based solar manufacturers – First Solar and SunPower – do most of their manufacturing overseas.
Suniva shrank its loss to $15.5m in 2014, down from a loss of $44.4m the year prior, according to papers filed by Shunfeng with the Hong Kong exchange.
In late July, SFCE canceled plans to invest $71m in a 723MW portfolio of wind farms in China. It ultimately scrapped the deal — which would have marked its initial foray into the wind sector — because a number of key conditions had not been met.
Link: http://www.rechargenews.com/solar/1408580/shunfeng-to-acquire-majority-stake-in-suniva
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Shunfeng acquires stake in US manufacturer Suniva
Aug 13, 2015 | PV Magazine (Germany)
By Sandra Enkhardt
The Chinese PV Group now sets apparently continued its buying spree overseas. Shunfeng will hold in the future more than 63 percent of the manufacturer. Suniva announced simultaneously to the expansion of its capacity.
Our previous winners topics: electricity tariffs, business models for Mietananlagen and investors, storage containers, storage networking, electricity self-sufficiency, solar power for Africa.
The Shunfeng International Clean Energy Ltd. with 57.76 million US dollars at Suniva, Inc. entered. The Chinese company, which has already taken, inter alia Suntech and SAG Solarstrom out of bankruptcy will hold future 63.3 percent stake in the US maker. In connection with the entry Suniva announced simultaneously to the expansion of its production capacity in the United States on more than 400 megawatts. This was connected with the creation of 300 additional jobs, Suniva shared further with.
But apparently is even a further production expansion planned. In an interview with the Bloomberg news agency said Suntech CEO Eric Luo that an expansion of capacity from Suniva is provided to one gigawatt. Both sides have agreed this. Already in June Luo announced that Suntech would expand because of the rising demand for photovoltaics in the US its production capacity by buying additional shares in North America. Suniva already has a solar cell and -modulproduktion at its headquarters in Norcross in the US state of Georgia and opened a new factory in Michigan.
By entering Shunfeng could gain market share in the United States, without having to pay import duties, which are available in the USA for solar modules and cells from China, said Jade Jones, analyst at GTM Research. Other module manufacturers tried to avoid import duties, where they built factories outside China, such as Trina Solar in Thailand or Jinko Solar in Malaysia.
Behind Shunfeng is one of the richest Chinese, the Hong Kong tycoon, Zheng Jianming. For some time he buys at numerous companies, especially from the solar industry. According to estimates compiled by Bloomberg, the group already has a value of about 20 billion US dollars. So Shunfeng took over the much larger, but insolvent Chinese photovoltaic competitors Wuxi Suntech. This was followed by the entry in the memory manufacturer powin Energy and the acquisition of SAG Solarstrom, including the subsidiary meteocontrol.Story is translated from German to English.
Link: http://www.pv-magazine.de/nachrichten/details/beitrag/shunfeng-steigt-bei-us-hersteller-suniva-ein_100020135/
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Shunfeng International takes majority stake in Suniva
Aug 13, 2015 | Atlanta Bussiness Chronicle
Shunfeng International Clean Energy bought a 63.1 percent share of Norcross, Ga.-based solar energy company Suniva Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
Suniva also said Thursday it will boost U.S. manufacturing capacity in the United States to more than 400 megawatts.
“High demand for our products continues to validate that as the U.S. solar market matures, sophisticated buyers are increasingly valuing power density and quality,” said John Baumstark, chairman and CEO of Suniva, in a statement. “This expansion was encouraged by the U.S. market’s interest in high-quality, high-value American-made solar products.”
Suniva makes high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cells and high-power solar modules.
Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy aims to become the world’s largest low-carbon, integrated, clean energy generation provider.
Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/08/shunfeng-international-takes-majority-stake-in.html
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Suniva to Increase U.S. Manufacturing Capacity to Over 400MW
Aug 13, 2015 | Altenergy Mag
Suniva, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced that it has initiated expansion of its U.S. manufacturing capacity, bringing its U.S. total to over 400MW. This expansion is facilitated by the acquisition of a 63.13% share of Suniva by leading global integrated clean energy provider, Shunfeng International Clean Energy ("SFCE", Hong Kong-listed (stock code: 1165)).
"High demand for our products continues to validate that as the U.S. solar market matures, sophisticated buyers are increasingly valuing power density and quality," said John Baumstark, chairman and chief executive officer of Suniva. "This expansion was encouraged by the U.S. market's interest in high-quality, high-value American-made solar products."
Suniva's continued growth further strengthens its position as the leading American solar manufacturer. As a U.S.-born, U.S.-operated company, Suniva prides itself on its role of American job creation. Suniva employs the highest percentage of American workers among all other major solar module manufacturers. The new expansion will bring an additional 300 jobs to the U.S. solar manufacturing landscape.
SFCE with technology and manufacturing assets and subsidiaries in the United States, Europe, and Asia, joins a roster of shareholders, including New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Goldman Sachs, Warburg-Pincus, and Prelude Ventures. These shareholders represent one of the most financially-strong ownership teams in the renewable energy industry.
"Developing cost-effective, high-efficiency solar solutions is an essential step in solving the world's energy challenges," said Mr. Eric Luo, chief executive officer of SFCE. "Suniva manufactures the best of American solar innovation, technology, and quality. We are excited to welcome Suniva into the SFCE family, along with its high quality investor group and management team, and work with Suniva to achieve its full potential in serving the U.S. solar market."
For more information, visit www.suniva.com.
About Suniva
Suniva is the leading American manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and high-power solar modules. The company is known for its high-quality products, industry-leading technology, reliability and high power density. Headquartered in metro-Atlanta, Georgia, and with manufacturing facilities in Georgia and Michigan, Suniva sells its advanced PV cells and modules globally. For additional information on how Suniva is making solar sensible, visit www.suniva.com.
About Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited
Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited (SFCE) is committed to becoming the largest low-carbon, integrated, clean energy generation provider globally. Through strategic acquisitions and integrations, SFCE owns a number of well-known product and technology brands in the industry. SFCE fosters continuous improvement in energy generation including in solar, sea water power and ground source heat pumps, combined with energy management and storage capabilities. SFCE aims to provide clean energy solutions to large scale public facilities and commercial users such as business facilities, office buildings, schools, hospitals sports stadiums and households. SFCE's energy solutions can achieve energy cost reductions of 50% - 70%, creating energy generation choices for its customers to reduce both carbon emissions and energy costs. -
With New Majority Shareholder, Suniva To Ramp Up U.S. Manufacturing
Aug 13, 2015 | Solar Industry
Hong Kong-based Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority share of PV solar cell and module manufacturer Suniva Inc., which will now expand its manufacturing capacity.
SFCE, a clean energy technology company and integrated service solutions provider, will acquire 63.13% equity interest in metro-Atlanta-based Suniva, which will increase its U.S. manufacturing capacity to more than 400 MW over the next 12 months, according to John Baumstark, chairman and CEO of Suniva.
Suniva, which sells its products to the global market, has manufacturing locations in both Georgia and Michigan. The expansion, facilitated by SFCE's acquisition, will also bring an additional 300 jobs to the U.S., the company says.
SFCE - with technology and manufacturing assets and subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe and Asia - joins other Suniva shareholders, including New Enterprise Associates, Goldman Sachs, Warburg-Pincus and Prelude Ventures.
According to Bloomberg, SFCE acquired the share for $57.8 million. The companies' plan is to eventually bring Suniva's manufacturing capacity up to 1 GW, the report says.
"We are excited to collaborate with SFCE's vast portfolio of companies and integrated solutions to enhance products, services and production capacity to our current customers and to attract a stronger customer base,” says Baumstark.
Eric Luo, CEO of SFCE, says, "Our strategic partnership with Suniva will further strengthen SFCE's global position as an affordable, high-efficiency manufacturer while providing SFCE with U.S. market access.”Link: http://www.solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.15569
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SF Suntech Australia Sets New Solar Industry Standards, Announces Partnership with Reclaim
Aug 14, 2015 | PR Newswire
SF Suntech Australia announced today the company's partnership with Reclaim PV Recycling, the Australia-based waste management company that focuses on reclaiming PV modules. Suntech was recently awarded the first Reclaim certificate in Australia for recycling 84 of its damaged or nonoperational warranty modules.
"Suntech has a longstanding presence in Australia and has always been regarded as an innovator in the solar industry. We enjoy breaking industry boundaries, setting standards, and hope other PV companies follow suit to stimulate sector growth and enhance environmental stewardship. We're therefore proud to work with Reclaim to set new solar industry standards for management of PV waste disposal," said Hui Wu, managing director of SF Suntech Australia. "It is important to stimulate awareness within the solar industry and the Australian government about the growing waste disposal problem that we face in the solar industry. Reclaim has developed an efficient, scalable system for the recycling of PV module components. This is an important step towards industry sustainability as solar energy becomes increasingly accessible and more prevalent, while the industry continues to invest in R&D and improve solar technology."
Suntech, a tier 1 solar manufacturer, provides its clients with high performance and quality modules backed by a 10-year product warranty. Tier 1 solar companies are the minority in Australia, providing Australia with only 30% of its modules, whereas manufacturers who are ranked tier 2 or below provide Australia with 70% of its modules. With tier 2 and 3 quality modules dominating the Australian solar market, there is a significant volume of non-functional modules creating an abundance of waste.
As a company committed to selling high efficiency and quality sustainable products, Suntech also prides itself in sustainable business practices. Suntech shares Reclaim's concern for the long-term implications that PV production has on waste disposal and on the environment. Canadian Solar has also now joined Reclaim's initiative, which not only aims to mobilize solar companies, but strives to engage government bodies in order to bring awareness to the industry and improve sustainable business practices in Australia. Suntech strongly believes that clean energy companies, who promote sustainability, should also practice sustainable waste management, which can be accelerated via government initiatives and corporate partnerships.
About Suntech
Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd., was incorporated in the PRC in January 2001, produces industry-leading solar products for residential, commercial, industrial, and utility applications. Suntech is a Bloomberg New Energy Finance's tier 1 solar company, based on its bankability and has delivered more than 30 million photovoltaic panels or 9 GWs of installed capacity to more than 1 thousand customers in more than 80 countries. Suntech's pioneering R&D creates customer-centric innovations that are driving solar to grid parity against fossil fuels. Suntech's mission is to provide reliable access to nature's cleanest and most abundant energy source.
PR Newswire Link: http://en.prnasia.com/story/archive/1477862_EN77862_0
Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sf-suntech-australia-sets-solar-010000920.html
Your Renewable News: http://www.yourrenewablenews.com/sf+suntech+australia+sets+new+solar+industry+standards,+announces+partnership+with+reclaim_119968.html
China Money Network: https://www.chinamoneynetwork.com/2015/08/14/sf-suntech-australia-sets-new-solar-industry-standards-announces-partnership-with-reclaim
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Solar Suntech partners with Reclaim PV Recycling to recycle solar panels
Aug 14, 2015 | Greentech Lead
By Ajith Kumar S
Solar equipment manufacturer Suntech Australia has entered into a partnership with Reclaim PV Recycling, an Australia-based waste management company that reclaims inoperative PV modules.
Recently Reclaim had awarded Suntech with a certificate for recycling 84 of its damaged or nonoperational warranty modules.
Hui Wu, managing director of Suntech Australia said the partnership is aimed at setting an example for the solar industry and the Australian government about addressing the problem of waste disposal in the solar industry.
“Reclaim has developed an efficient, scalable system for the recycling of PV module components. This is an important step towards industry sustainability as solar energy becomes increasingly accessible and more prevalent, while the industry continues to invest in R&D and improve solar technology,” Hui said.
Australia has few tier 1 solar companies and they contribute only 30 percent of its modules.
Companies ranked tier 2 and below cater to the remaining 70 percent requirement of modules. Production of inferior quality modules leads to an abundance of waste.
Canadian Solar recently joined Reclaim’s initiative.
Link: http://www.greentechlead.com/solar/sf-suntech-partners-with-reclaim-pv-recycling-to-recycle-solar-panels-27476
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Conergy plans trio of Thai solar farms
Aug 14, 2015 | PV Tech
By Liam Stoker
Solar energy developer Conergy has partnered with Symbior Solar group company ATC Enviro to plan three new solar farms for Thailand.
The three parks will have a combined capacity of 19MWp and will contribute towards Hong Kong-based Symbior Solar’s growing portfolio in Thailand, which currently comprises six solar farms with a combined capacity of 30MW.
Conergy is to conduct the planning, engineering, design and component supply while Ensys Group will be trusted with on-ground construction. Conergy will supply more than 60,000 PE310P modules and Sigma II mounting systems for the projects.
Two of the solar farms, each with an installed capacity of 8MWp, have been planned for Thailand’s Si Maha Phot district, which is to the west of capital Bangkok. The third has been planned for Si Maho Sod district.
Alexander Lenz, president of Conergy Asia and Middle East, said Thailand was an “ideal location” for solar PV deployment. "Thailand is committed to achieve ambitious renewable energy goals and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Solar energy is integral to the success of the programme,” he added.
Symbior Solar plans to develop 100MW of solar across Asia throughout 2015 and 2016. Florian Bennhold, CEO at Symbior, said the outlook across Southeast Asia remained “very positive” and labelled Thailand as one of the company’s fastest-growing markets.
Thailand has continued to attract attention from solar developers and module manufacturers alike with a number of Chinese firms looking to set up shop in the country as a workaround for anti-dumping measures undertaken by the US.
Developers too have rushed to confirm commitment in the country, including domestic engineering firm Gunkul Engineering which in June penned a deal with tier one manufacturer Suntech for the supply of 63MW of panels to be used across eight projects in the country.
Link: http://www.pv-tech.org/news/conergy_plans_trio_of_thai_solar_farms_1292
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China's State Council Signals Stepped Up Environmental Monitoring
Aug 14, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China will build a nationwide environmental monitoring network by 2020 to more accurately track air, water and soil pollution, the State Council said Aug. 12.
The State Council said environmental monitoring today is “incomplete” and “not uniform” and information-sharing and supervision over monitoring has been “chaotic” and not conducted in a systematic manner.
Environmental monitoring institutions will have to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of data, according to the State Council, the nation's top executive body. It warned of severe punishment for tampering with monitoring equipment or falsifying environmental data.
The State Council designated the Ministry of Environmental Protection as the lead body to create a network for integrating data. Information also will be gathered by the ministries of Land and Resources, Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Transportation, Water Resources, and Agriculture.
The announcement came a week after the Ministry of Environmental Protection released a notice that it was working on a more detailed plan for establishing the monitoring system that should be finalized by the end of the year (153 DEN A-9, 8/10/15).
Avoiding Local Interference
In an explanatory document on the Ministry of Environmental Protection website Aug. 13, Hao Jiming, head of the Department of Environmental Science at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said establishing a national-level monitoring network is being done “precisely to avoid” conditions that allowed for interference by local government in assessing data or in conducting data fraud.
The State Council notice said building an environmental monitoring market would help boost environmental protection industries, which are among several “strategic emerging industries” designated in the current 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015).
It also said a network like this would help encourage domestic research, innovation and the creation of new technologies.
Link (subscription needed): http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=74355605&vname=dennotallissues&fn=74355605&jd=74355605
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A Bright Spot in US-China Relations: Renewable Energy
Aug 14, 2015 | The Diplomat
By Michelle Winglee
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington in September comes on the heels of cyber accusations, tensions in the South China Sea, and grumbling about China’s currency devaluation — all just as a new U.S. election cycle starts to kick in, a time notorious for being tough on China. The Obama administration faces a narrowing window for engagement with the Chinese, who have viewed the United States’ “pivot” to Asia as a containment rather than an engagement strategy.
Still, there has always been one topic that both sides have been able to agree upon. From President Barack Obama’s first visit to Beijing in November 2009, which heralded a new U.S.-China renewable energy partnership, to his most recent visit five years later, featuring an “historic agreement” to reduce carbon emission growth, both sides agree about the need to reduce greenhouse gases. However, even a common goal as well intentioned as saving the planet can be derailed without an understanding of the underlying frictions that have prevented bilateral cooperation between the world’s two largest carbon emitters.
Just two months after the United States and China reached a landmark climate accord at the November 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, the International Trade Commission (ITC) concluded in a press release that “a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of certain crystalline silicon photovoltaic products from China and Taiwan.” The Commission found that Chinese solar panels were being subsidized by the Chinese and dumped in the U.S. “at less than fair value.” Their ruling imposed new tariffs on imports from China, including antidumping duties of 26.71 percent to 78.42 percent on most Chinese manufactured solar panels and anti-subsidy duties of 27.64 to 49.79 percent for Chinese modules.
As a trade issue, the U.S.-China clean energy partnership faces significant headwinds. Under World Trade Organization (WTO) trade regulation, the United States is well within its rights to penalize subsidization for “dumping” products at below market value – including those that may help reduce the cost of solar energy. Even with an Environmental Goods Agreement in the WTO that reduces tariffs on products such as wind turbines and solar panels, significant barrier to entry can still exist due to different specification systems within countries for regulations and standards that put exporters at a disadvantage.
Trade disputes also stir up a “win/loose” perception that cheap Chinese manufacturing undermines American jobs. But in fact, Malaysia (not American industry), has been the real beneficiary of the U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar industry products. With its assembly line wages roughly on par with China’s coastal areas – about ten times less than average U.S. monthly wages – Malaysia’s solar industry has been growing rapidly. According to a New York Times report, the Malaysian solar industry receives a 10-year exemption from corporate taxes specially allotted to large domestic and foreign investors, and is almost entirely owned by American, European, South Korean and Japanese companies. Though solar manufacturing in Malaysia has yet to illicit domestic outcry in the United States, already Malaysia is the third largest producer of solar equipment behind China and the EU.
Rather than letting clean energy fall victim to another trade dispute, the U.S. and China should recognize the opportunity in cooperation on bilateral investment that could bypass trade frictions and help both sides capture the positive externalities of green technology. The United States and China are currently in the midst of negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), which has the potential to create new incentives to invest in each other’s clean energy sector. With China not in the U.S.-led Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement and the United States not involved in Asia’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade initiative, the U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty offers a singular opportunity for the two countries to engage, and not to favor the red or blue, but the green.
According to Melanie Hart of the Center for American Progress, moving toward a clean energy economy in the United States will require more than $1 trillion of investment in the electricity grid, new fuels, mass transit, power generation, and manufacturing. The United States is a relatively secure investment destination, home of leading solar technology, and has a strong domestic market for clean energy. With Obama’s new regulatory plan under the EPA, establishing first-ever national standards to limit carbon pollution from power plants, demand for clean energy is expected to increase.
Meanwhile, China, with about $3.8 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, is increasingly employing its money towards outward investment and has strong incentives to invest in clean energy. In China, coal accounts for about 60 percent of China’s CO2 emissions, which are causing massive health problems because of the smog they generate as well as social discontent. In June, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang submitted a carbon-curbing plan to the UN, pledging to cut China’s greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels.
However, even with the right incentives, supply does not always meet demand. Good policies are necessary to capitalize on opportunities. As Hart points out, foreign companies operating in the United States are disadvantaged. U.S. tax credits for residents and corporations that generate energy through renewable sources primarily help large and well-established companies that can pay the high upfront costs for renewable projects. Foreign and smaller companies with less operational capacity need investment incentives that can help reduce considerably high upfront costs and risk from the start. Another clean energy incentive, loan guarantees issued by the U.S. Department of Energy, would be especially hard for a Chinese company to obtain given the political controversies of U.S. government benefits to a Chinese company.
Meanwhile, companies like Apple, Google, and even Goldman Sachs have been trailblazing investment in solar energy. In February, Apple Chief Executive, Tim Cooke announced an $850 million agreement to buy enough solar energy from lead developer, First Solar, to power all of its California operations. Though Cook certainly deserves credit for proactively decreasing the company’s carbon footprint, U.S. tax policies and creative financing techniques have also made this commercially profitable. In a Wall Street Journal interview with Lisa Jackson, the woman overseeing Apple’s environmental policy, she commented, “The difference in what we’re going to pay for the power through this deal and what we would pay commercially is hundreds of millions of dollars.”
On the other side of the Pacific, China is creating financial incentives for clean energy too, though by providing free or low-cost loans and artificially cheap input components, land, and energy designated to promote the renewables sector. In April, Apple made forays into the China arena, agreeing to back two larger solar farms in China. Both sides have recognized the need to adjust domestic policy and provide government support, but can the two countries work together? Few companies have been able to help capture clean energy’s positive externality, and the U.S. and China have yet to figure out how to make collaboration happen at the international policy level.
Financial support for clean energy does not measure up to the tax breaks and other policies propping up fossil fuels. An IMF study estimated that the cost of global fossil fuel subsidies in 2015 would amount to $5.3 trillion or $14.5 billion a day. China’s energy hungry domestic market could help validate new technologies that burn coal more cleanly. The U.S. demand for residential solar has also risen dramatically and stands to benefit from Chinese investments that could help finance more clean energy jobs. As the two biggest carbon emitters globally, the United States and China have the most to gain from allowing clean energy to access international markets of scale.
The United States has the opportunity to set a new tone before Xi’s state visit to the White House this September and seize upon this opportunity where interests align. The visit could perpetuate economic tensions and frictions that have lasted since China’s ascension to the WTO in 2001, or establish a more cooperative relationship towards a sustainable future that better aligns economic incentives with environmental ones under a green BIT.
Link: http://thediplomat.com/2015/08/a-bright-spot-in-us-china-relations-renewable-energy/
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China Air Pollution Kills 4,000 People a Day, Study Says
Aug 14, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Alex Morales
Air pollution is killing an average of 4,000 people a day in China, according to researchers who cited coal-burning as the likely principal cause.
Deaths related to the main pollutant, tiny particles known as PM2.5s that can trigger heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and asthma, total 1.6 million a year, or 17 percent of China's mortality level, according to the study by Berkeley Earth, an independent research group funded largely by educational grants. It was published Aug. 13 in the online peer-reviewed journal PLOS One from the Public Library of Science.
“When I was last in Beijing, pollution was at the hazardous level: Every hour of exposure reduced my life expectancy by 20 minutes,” Richard Muller, scientific director of Berkeley Earth and a co-author of the paper, said in an e-mail. “It's as if every man, woman and child smoked 1.5 cigarettes each hour.”
Chinese authorities have acknowledged the air pollution situation after heavy smog enveloped swathes of the nation including Beijing and Shanghai in recent years. They have adopted air quality standards, introduced monitoring stations and cleaner standards for transportation fuel while shutting coal plants and moving factories out of cities.
Muller and co-author Robert Rohde analyzed four months of hourly data for some 1,500 ground stations in China. They then employed a model used by the World Health Organization to calculate the disease burden.
They found that 92 percent of China's population experienced at least 120 hours of unhealthy air during the April 5, 2014, to Aug. 5, 2015 study period. For 38 percent of the population, the average pollution level across the entire four-month period was deemed unhealthy.
Burning Coal
About 90 percent of the 161 cities whose air quality was monitored in 2014 failed to meet official standards, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.
The Berkeley Earth researchers also examined where the pollutants were detected and concluded that the sources of PM2.5s matching those for sulfur dioxide suggests most of the pollution comes from burning coal.
“Sources of pollution are widespread but are particularly intense in a northeast corridor that extends from near Shanghai to north of Beijing,” the researchers wrote. “Extensive pollution is not surprising since particulate matter can remain airborne for days to weeks and travel thousands of kilometers.”
China gets about 64 percent of its primary energy from coal, according to National Energy Administration data. It is closing the dirtiest plants while still planning new, cleaner ones. The country is expected to shut 60 gigawatts of plants from 2016 to 2020 though three times as many plants are scheduled to be built using newer technology, according to Sophie Lu, a Bloomberg New Energy finance analyst in Beijing.
Berkeley Earth is funded mainly by educational grants and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. It was started in 2010 to examine global temperatures to see if there was merit in the concerns of skeptics of climate change and has since expanded research to other areas of global warming and air pollution.
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