According to the reporting by Chinese news outlets such as Xinhua News Agency, Yingli Solar formally activated its new 2GW high-efficiency PV module production site in Ningxia on July 16. This “smart” production site is located in Tongxin County of the autonomous region. With an investment totaling RMB 390 million, it is regarded as one of the major industrial projects in the region. Once up and running, the production site is expected to employ as many as 200-plus people and generate an annual revenue of almost RMB 3 billion. The PV industry is among the key industries that Ningxia is focusing its development efforts on (i.e., “six new, six special, and six ideal industries”). Furthermore, the new module production site also represents Ningxia’s progress in capping and curbing carbon emissions.
Tongxin County constitutes an extremely arid part of Ningxia and has a very high level of solar irradiance. Endowed with a vast amount of renewable energy resources, Tongxin County is seizing the opportunities created by the regional and central governments’ new energy policies. Domestic solar and wind project developers including CNNP Rich Energy and Yuesheng New Energy have been invited to establish operations in its vicinity. A total of 40-plus clean energy projects have been set up or are under development in the county, and their total generation capacity has reached 3.25 million kW. Also, equipment and component manufacturers such as SINENG and Shuansheng Cable have been invited to create a local clean energy industrial cluster. This industrial cluster accommodates production lines for new energy generation equipment, electronic components, energy storage batteries, etc. The local supply will continue to extend toward both the upstream and downstream, thereby propelling the “high-quality development” of the regional economy as a whole.
