GE Energy Financial Services has invested in a 32-megawatt solar PV project in Japan that will use Yingli solar panels.
Located in the prefecture of Okayama, Kumenan; construction has already commenced and the solar farm is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2016.
Pacifico Energy is managing construction and operations and Toyo Engineering Corporation will be constructing the plant.
GE Energy Financial Services states it has made project investment commitments of USD $1.8 billion in equity and debt in more than one gigawatt of solar power projects globally.
In other recent Yingli Solar related news, the company has expressed disappointment with a decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to increase and broaden duties on solar components and modules from China.
Yingli Green Energy will be among the companies affected and will be subject to a preliminary anti-subsidy tariff of 26.89% on some PV solar module imports.
“As we have witnessed globally now, tariffs are not the answer to driving affordable solar energy,” said Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli Green Energy.
While tariffs may provide some lift to local manufacturing, they can also dampen uptake of solar; which then impacts on where the jobs really are – sales and installation. In effect, more jobs may be sacrificed than gained – an important point for other countries considering similar action to contemplate.
While Yingli has taken a blow with the decision, it has received good news from elsewhere – the company has been named Germany’s 3rd most recognised Chinese brand. The recognition has been helped along by Yingli Green Energy’s sponsorship of the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup™ – the first Chinese and the first renewable energy company in the tournament’s history to do so.
The Yingli brand has also achieved significant awareness in countries such as Australia, where Yingli solar panels are now a common sight on rooftops around the nation.
