energy – भारतीय महासागर समाचार

Largest ‘power bank’ in eastern Zhejiang a step closer to operation

A helicopter carries construction materials to a designated site in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, April 16, 2024. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

All necessary materials for the second construction phase of a pumped storage power station in Ningbo, Zhejiang province are in place, an official from State Grid’s provincial subsidiary said recently.

The Ninghai Tea Mountain Pumped Storage Power Station, located in Ninghai county of Ningbo, is a 500 kilowatts outbound project set to complete by mid-June this year.

“Once completed, the outbound project will serve as a power transmission channel for local wind energy, photovoltaic and other new energy sources, playing a significant role in deepening the province’s green and low-carbon transformation, expanding effective investments, and building a modern industrial system,” said Li Chaosun, an official from Ninghai Power Supply Company.

Suhail Al Mazrouei underscores UAE’s commitment to balancing economic development, environmental protection at World Economic Forum

Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, underscored that the UAE’s approach to climate action is underpinned by striking balance between economic development and environmental protection through leveraging low-carbon energy solutions.

The Minister made this statement at the “Green Molecules and Hydrogen” session as part of the World Economic Forum, being hosted by the Saudi capital city, Riyadh, under the theme “Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development”.

He said, “In 2023, the UAE unveiled its National Hydrogen Strategy 2050 to bolster low-carbon industries, advance climate neutrality, and position the nation as a leading hydrogen producer by 2031. The UAE targets to produce 1.4 million tons of low-emission hydrogen annually by 2031 and 15 million tons annually by 2050.”

Al Mazrouei set out key enablers in the green molecules business, including global collaboration, policy and regulation, financing and investment, R&D and advanced technology, and sustainable commercial and economic models.

Moreover, the Minister participated in a session on the “Roadmap to Tripling Renewables”, where he outlined the key bottlenecks hindering rapid renewable deployment in emerging markets to be regulatory barriers, innovative financing, and digitalization and innovative solutions.

Reflecting on the UAE’s journey in deploying renewables, Al Mazrouei said, “The UAE’s approach to increasing the deployment of renewables is remarkable. Between 2019 and 2022, the UAE successfully doubled its renewables capacity, and by 2023, we witnessed a 70% growth in installed renewables capacity, which reached 6 GW.”

He added, “These achievements were made possible through the translation of our national net-zero goal into actionable policies. We are working in a bottom-up approach with the engagement of all segments of the community, private sector, academia, and youth.”

The Minister highlighted the importance of global partnership and collaboration to facilitate technology transfer, investment, and financing from developed countries and international financial institutions, provide policy support, capacity-building programmes, and infrastructure development assistance, while promoting knowledge sharing among stakeholders and helping mitigate risks associated with renewable energy projects, enhancing investor confidence and accelerating the transition to sustainable energy systems in emerging markets.

He said, “The UAE is a major global investor in renewables. It allocated AED200 billion to investments in clean energy projects locally until 2030, having invested AED160 billion so far. Moreover, the UAE invested AED185 billion in renewables projects in over 40 countries. Our flagship renewables company, Masdar, has made substantial renewable energy investments across the world, with a total capacity of 20 GW installed or under development. By 2030, Masdar aims to grow its global renewables capacity to 100 GW.”

Azerbaijani ambassador praises China’s stance on new-energy collaboration, hoping for strengthened ties to boost green transformation

Customs staff members check the first “Qilu” freight train running from Jiaozhou, east China’s Shandong province to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan in Jiaozhou, Jan. 31, 2021. A freight train carrying 100 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers’ goods such as tires and air conditions left Jiaozhou on Sunday, marking the launch of “Qilu” freight train services from Jiaozhou to Baku. (Photo by Xie Hao/Xinhua)

Azerbaijan is fully ready to develop economic and trade relations with China without setting any ceiling or limit in terms of scope, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to China Bunyad Huseynov said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times, giving examples of the potential for deeper cooperation in the new-energy industry, where the two countries are highly complementary.

As the world is at a crucial moment in the transition to green energy, the ambassador hopes to deepen cooperation with Chinese companies to achieve sustainable development and win-win outcomes.

Speaking at an investment promotion event held by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China earlier this week, Huseynov said that China’s remarkable achievements in the field of new energy are well known, and highly complementary cooperation is already well underway.

Recently, Azerbaijan initiated a bidding process to build a new-energy vehicle (NEV) factory. Chinese automaker BYD won the bid and signed an agreement to establish a joint venture company and set up an electric bus production line in Azerbaijan, the ambassador said.

The country is planning to gradually replace fuel buses with electric ones in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, Huseynov said, indicating possible cooperation.

“We are also in communication with Contemporary Amperex Technology – a Chinese lithium-ion battery company – regarding the construction of energy storage projects in Azerbaijan,” the envoy said.

The Embassy of Azerbaijan in China is also actively promoting the green transformation and strengthening cooperation with Chinese companies in this field, including replacing the embassy’s fuel vehicles with BYD’s NEVs, the Global Times learned from the embassy.

Chinese companies are also involved in the green energy transition as investors, builders and operators, including in the photovoltaic power sector, according to the embassy.

Closer cooperation in the green field can be foreseen as both countries are playing an increasingly important role in tackling climate change on the world stage.

This November, Azerbaijan will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku.

In March, Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources and president-designate of the COP29 Mukhtar Babayev visited China along with a delegation. This was the first visit of the country’s COP team abroad, to understand China’s expectations from the climate change conference.

“I believe that both countries share a high degree of consensus on the green agenda,” Huseynov said.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to China Bunyad Huseynov Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

China takes the lead in wind energy and solar, as well as electric vehicles, and is willing to share its achievements with other countries, which the ambassador said “demonstrates China’s open and win-win cooperation attitude.”

Azerbaijan hopes to play a role as a regional growth hub, and cooperating with the booming Chinese new-energy industry can help it achieve its own transformation, Chinese experts said.

“Azerbaijan does not want to remain solely in the fields of fossil energy and raw materials. It hopes to make achievements in the new manufacturing industry, and strengthening cooperation with Chinese companies in the field is a natural option to reach that goal,” Zhang Hong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Deepening cooperation with Chinese enterprises can help Azerbaijan achieve its energy transformation faster and enhance its industrial innovation capabilities, meeting its needs for industrial modernization and development, Zhang said.

Azerbaijan is not alone. Countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia are also actively attracting Chinese NEV companies to invest in building factories in a bid to drive the development of their own NEV industry chains.

The positive moves of these regional countries are in stark contrast with the intensified protectionist actions taken by the US, experts said.

Asked for comments on the “overcapacity” narrative in new energy by some Western media outlets, the Azerbaijani ambassador said that China not only produces high-quality and affordable products but is also willing to share these achievements with the world.

“The world is at a crucial moment in the transition to green energy, and Chinese companies are collaborating with those from other countries with an open attitude to help them achieve this energy transformation,” Huseynov said, noting that “this initiative is worthy of praise.”

“Regardless of how certain media outlets may perceive it, I greatly appreciate China’s open and cooperative attitude,” Huseynov said

On a separate note, the ambassador highly commended the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, in which Azerbaijan has been one of the earliest and most active respondents and participants.

“The value of this global cooperation initiative lies in ‘building bridges rather than walls’,” Huseynov said, noting that this joint initiative “serves as a demonstration of the spirit of cooperation and openness, which is needed for global development at the current stage.”

GT Voice: Xinjiang’s green devt experience valuable to Western economies

Illustration: Xia Qing/Global Times

Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has emerged as a prominent symbol of China’s progress in new-energy development. Its leading position in the new-energy field can offer concrete evidence showcasing China’s efforts to maintain stability, promote economic development and enhance people’s livelihoods in the region.

These tangible achievements speak volumes, countering baseless Western hype over alleged human rights issues.

The installed capacity of new energy in Xinjiang has exceeded 70 million kilowatts (kW), accounting for about half of the region’s total installed capacity, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing data from the State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co.

Xinjiang now ranks among the top markets in terms of its installed capacity of new energy and the capacity proportion of new energy. Even on a global scale, these are remarkable signs of progress. Only a handful of European countries, such as Denmark, get 50 percent of their electricity from wind and solar power.

Xinjiang’s achievements not only mark a major advance in China’s new-energy development but also provide the world, especially Western countries, with valuable experience in green development.

Some American politicians are advised to learn about China’s efforts in achieving rapid green growth in Xinjiang, so as to give meaningful consideration to facilitating their country’s green development, instead of spreading lies about Xinjiang.

Xinjiang boasts of some of the largest new-energy resources in China. Total reserves of wind energy resources in Xinjiang are estimated at about 890 million kW and the exploitable amount of wind energy resources accounts for 15.4 percent of the country’s total.

The exploitable amount of solar energy resources accounts for 40 percent of the country’s total, ranking top worldwide, according to local authorities.

In recent years, Xinjiang has capitalized on its natural advantages in energy and other resources, actively promoting the development of renewable energy. This has led to significant progress in adjusting the region’s energy structure, with the rapid construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic base projects.

Xinjiang has installed 35.68 million kW of wind power and 34.35 million kW of photovoltaic power. Under the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), the region approved 180 gigawatts of new-energy capacity, with installed capacity estimated to exceed 89 million kW by the end of 2024. By then, new energy is expected to become the primary power source in Xinjiang.

Over the years, the rapid development of new energy in Xinjiang has been greatly facilitated by China’s policy of boosting development in the country’s western region, aiming to bridge the development gap with the eastern region.

It is under the guidance of the central government’s policies covering the western region that Xinjiang has increased its investment and support to the new-energy industry, actively driving the transformation and upgrading of the local economy.

Accelerated economic development has also benefited people in Xinjiang, which is conducive to promoting social stability.

Xinjiang’s transformation of its resource advantage into economic development advantage has not only ensured electricity supply for the local population, but also boosted local employment.

While promoting the construction of new-energy projects, Xinjiang also prioritizes ecological protection, achieving a harmonious balance between economic development and environmental protection.

The experience of Xinjiang in new-energy policies, investment and infrastructure construction demonstrates that government guidance and support can expedite the growth of the new-energy industry.

As the world strives to achieve green development and address climate change, Xinjiang’s example in the area of new-energy development could serve as a valuable reference for other countries, especially those in the West.