ZenithSolar Ltd., provider of the world’s most efficient combined heat and power solar system, announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Energy Bureau of Gansu Provincial Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China for cooperation in the development of combined heat and power (CHP) solar stations in the Gansu province. The MOU was signed at a ceremony in the provincial capital Lanzhou.
Under the agreement, ZenithSolar will provide the technology for the installation of two 10 megawatt (MW) cogeneration plants based on ZenithSolar's Z20 CHP system. The Gansu province of China has a population of near 30 million and is located in northwestern China approximately 1,200 kilometers from Beijing. The Gansu Province lies at the edge of the Gobi desert and has the best solar energy conditions in China and among the best anywhere in the world.
The agreement is focused on two planned facilities which are to be located in the cities of Jiayuguan and Jinchang and to commence their installation during 2011. One of the installations will be used to provide electricity and process heat for an industrial plant and the other for a large neighborhood.
Under the terms of the MOU, the Energy Bureau of Gansu will recommend the use of ZenithSolar's CHP system for other locations in the Gansu Province after the successful operation of the two pilot plants. The Energy Bureau also announced that in concert with the introduction of the CHP technology a scientific research center will be established to provide training for government institutions, enterprises and individuals to focus on the development of new solar energy technology.
"ZenithSolar is honored to initiate the Gansu project in a province of China that is demonstrating leadership, vision and a long term commitment to renewable energy, said Roy Segev the CEO of ZenithSolar Ltd. We look forward to the collaboration in order to turn the Gansu project into a reality and thereby contribute to China's ambitious renewable energy goals."
"We are very pleased to be partnering with ZenithSolar, a leader in solar CHP technology, in developing the first significant solar project to adopt advanced CPV technology in China," said Mr. Wang Yongqian, Chairman of Gansu Foreign Affair Office.
The Gansu project represents the first large-scale solar collaboration between China and the Israeli company ZenithSolar in the field of CHP solar energy. "ZenithSolar's system has proven its reliability and effectiveness in providing electric power and heat for over a year in an existing facility in Israel and we view the Gansu project as a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate the technology on a global scale," said Roy Segev, CEO of Zenith Solar Ltd.