Greening the world's power industry with strategic buys

According to Joseph Jacobelli, an independent energy analyst and executive vice-president for Asia business at Cenfura Ltd, Chinese companies have an outstanding ability in cost control and are strong in technology advancements in renewable energy. Hence, they stand out on the global stage when bidding for projects abroad.

SPIC's total power generation capacity abroad exceeded 6.05 GW by the end of last year. Clean energy like hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic and related fields like energy storage account for more than 70 percent of the total.

Power generation capacity that is under construction overseas exceeds 2.2 GW. The company has a presence in 46 countries and regions, 37 of which are participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to a SPIC report released in February.

By the end of last year, SPIC's installed capacity of renewable energy in Brazil was around 1.77 GW, followed by Mexico (818 MW), according a company report this month.

According to Wei, the Latin American market has always been a hot spot for Chinese investors. And countries like Mexico are new destinations for State-owned energy giants, as long as they are able to manage short-term uncertainties well.

SPIC has completed its acquisition of Zuma Energia, a Mexican independent renewable energy producer, in November through its Hong Kong-based unit China Power International Holding Ltd.

It was the first direct investment by a Chinese power enterprise in the Mexican market as well as the biggest renewable energy acquisition in Latin America in 2020.

The investment in Zuma Energia signifies the company's continuous commitment to clean power generation, SPIC said, adding it also illustrates the company's confidence in the Mexican economy and its intent to offer operational and investment support to nearby countries.

SPIC will continue to provide clean, safe and economical power, said Qian Zhimin, its chairman.

SPIC has also contract-built the Hunutlu Power Plant project in Turkey, the country's first thermal power plant without any flue-gas stack and with a total installed capacity of 1.32 million kilowatts.

Equipped with advanced environmental protection and ultra-supercritical power generation techniques, the project will produce about 9 billion kWh of power annually, making it a major power source in Adana, a city in southern Turkey.

Zu Bin, board director of SPIC, said, "Our company is treating the project as an opportunity to continue contributing to cultural exchanges between China and Turkey and striving for mutual benefit."

SPIC said it would also further expand into markets like Vietnam, Chile and Myanmar. The company also plans to raise its total installed power capacity to more than 220 GW by 2025; and more than 60 percent of it would be clean energy, its top executive said.