Beiyuan Group announced in late April that it will be setting up 300MW of PV generation in Yulin, a prefecture-level city in China’s Shaanxi Province. Specifically, there will be a 200MW project that has been guaranteed grid connection under a 2021 program and a 100MW project that will be integrated into a regional high-voltage transmission system (the name of which roughly translates to “High-Voltage Transmission Line of Shengfu-Hebei Southern Grid”). Beiyuan Group said that the content of these projects include PV modules, inverters, transformers, 100kV booster substations, cables, etc. The exact details about the EPC part has yet to be revealed.
The rationale behind Beiyuan’s plan is to support the national policies of “the dual control of energy intensity and consumption” and “capping emissions and achieving carbon neutrality”. Yulin is near the border between Shaanxi and the Inner Mongolia, and the region contains many coal fields. Beiyuan has been operating there as a suppliers for various chemicals and materials, and it has its own power plants to supply electricity for self-consumption.
The budget for the two projects is set at RMB 1.5 billion. The construction period is expected to come to nine months. According to the company’s own calculation, the 200MW project will deliver a FIRR of 8.23% and an after-tax rate of return of 6.6% once it enters operation. The payback period of the 200MW project is estimated to reach 12.1 years. As for the 100MW project, its FIRR and after-tax rate of return are projected at 7.94% and 6.25% respectively. The payback period of the 100MW project is estimated to reach 12.7 years. In sum, both projects will provide significant economic benefits. This investment therefore aligns with Beiyuan’s growth strategy and will help the company move toward the goal of eventually achieving net-zero emissions.