Suntech among 50 global bids for solar project in China

Solar cell and panel maker Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE:STP) has submitted one of 50 bids for a 10-megawatt solar power station in Dunhuang, Gansu province, China.

The project is expected to be a mix of about 70 percent traditional crystalline silicon solar panels with the remainder to be made up of thin-film panels and concentrated solar PV.

The project's estimated value is RMB 500 million ($73 million), but it could be expanded to several phases. China's National Energy Administration has established a feed-in tariff price of RMB 4 ($0.585) per kilowatt-hour for the initial 25,000 kWh of production, with the rate for additional kWh to be set by the State Council.

Some of the major applicants include:

• Suntech subsidiary Suntech Energy Engineering, which is expected to bid RMB 1.8 to 2 ($0.263 to $0.292) per kilowatt-hour.
• State-owned, Beijing-based China Power Investment, which has a renewable portfolio of 400 MW of wind under development. 
• China Huaneng Group, which is expected to invest RMB 5 billion ($735 million) to complete a 500 MW wind power station in Inner Mongolia by 2010 (see China plans 2.4GW wind power projects).
• Xuzhou, China-based solar cell, solar module and PV system maker Jiangsu Aide Solar Energy Technology, a subsidiary of the PanJit Group with production capacity of 150 MW of solar modules and 20 MW of solar cells. And expansion this year is expected to bring Jiangsu Aide to a production capacity of 200 MW of modules and 80 MW of cells.
• Multiple other companies, including some based in Denmark and Germany.