Chinese oil firms like CNPC and Sinopec may not take a page from other hydrocarbon firms like Total when it comes to investing in renewable energy. Chinese solar manufacturer Trina Solar Ltd. chairman Jifan Gao said in an interview with Bloomberg that while he believes there will be more solar mergers and acquisitions, that it didn’t make since for Chinese oil firms to invest in renewable energy. “In China, it makes sense for utility companies such as Guodian to expand into solar because that’s a vertical integration,” he said. “It doesn’t make too much sense for the likes of Sinopec.”
Gao also said that he believes that there will only be three to five leading solar companies dominating the Chinese markets with 80% of the country’s market share. The chairman also refuted reports that Chinese manufacturers survived while many other firms – like the US’ Solyndra and Germany’s Q-Cells – were forced into liquidation or acquisition. He said that Chinese firms do not get as much of a subsidy for solar panels as German companies. Gao added, “It’s also a mistake to think that China Development Bank loans are cheaper than loans from commercial banks. It’s about the same.”
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