Project to play key role in promoting local low carbon development
Employees carry out construction work on March 23 at the Nestor Kirchner-Jorge Cepernic hydropower plant, a 1,310-megawatt project in southern Patagonia of Argentina. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The Nestor Kirchner-Jorge Cepernic hydropower plant, a 1,310-megawatt project located in southern Patagonia of Argentina, is expected to put all three of its generators into commercial operation by the end of 2024, said its contractor China Energy Engineering Group Co Ltd.
The project, which is also the world's southernmost hydroelectric dam, will play a key role in promoting local low carbon development and green energy transition, covering the daily electricity consumption of 1.5 million Argentine households, said the company, also known as Energy China.
The average annual power generation will reach 4,950 gigawatt-hours by then, which means that Argentina-installed power capacity will grow by approximately 6.5 percent, it said.
The completion of the largest hydropower project in the country, with a total contractual amount of more than $5 billion, is expected to increase Argentina's hydroelectric generation by 15 percent.
China's policy and commercial banks have also been playing a key role in ensuring the smooth operation of overseas green energy projects in recent years, staying committed to the vision of open, green and clean cooperation.
They have built a complete environmental and social impact evaluation system as well as professional risk control processes, highlighting the advantages of abundant capital and ample strength.
During construction of the project, China Development Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China have provided loans, ensuring the smooth development of the biggest energy project under construction in Argentina while supporting Energy China to develop clean and renewable hydroelectric resources in the countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The financial enterprises have played an important role in helping the development of local green projects and made tangible contributions to the promotion of global environmental governance, said Energy China.
As the largest cooperation project of a Chinese company in Latin American countries, the project is also the largest overseas electric power investment project by a Chinese company abroad.
In the peak stage of construction, it created over 5,000 jobs directly and 15,000 jobs indirectly. After completion, it will generate electricity to be exported to neighboring countries, saving more than $1 billion of oil and gas import expenses, said the company.
Founded in September 2011, Energy China is a large and internationally advanced energy engineering conglomerate with a well-known brand in the power industry in China and globally. It is supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
As a comprehensive conglomerate that provides holistic solutions and full-chain services in areas such as power and infrastructure in China and the world at large, Energy China's main business scope covers energy and power, water conservancy and water affairs, railways and highways, ports and navigation channels, municipal engineering, urban rail, environmental protection and housing construction.
Joseph Jacobelli, an energy analyst and managing partner at Asia Clean Tech Energy Investments, said China is the undisputed clean energy generation global leader today, and the massive increase in variable renewable energy capacity in the home market, mostly solar and wind power, has created broad and deep expertise for the nation's developers and equipment suppliers involved.
The experience makes the Chinese energy developers and equipment suppliers highly competitive, and they could even become key players abroad in a few years as they are still in the process of learning how to successfully navigate different markets overseas, Jacobelli said.
It is believed there will be an increasing number of companies with renewable energy portfolios listing on Chinese stock exchanges, a trend that should be seen in overseas stock markets as well, he said.
After years of development, China has become the global leader in solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power generation as well as the largest market for electric vehicles.
These ambitions are also reflected in China's overseas performances, with investments and loans aimed at developing renewable energy projects worldwide, mainly focusing on developing countries, according to a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington DC.
Construction of the project, which is located in an extreme southern region of the world with a formidable climate situation, has faced numerous challenges, including the features of the terrain, where winds can reach gusts of over 100 kilometers per hour.
When the temperature experiences an extreme drop, construction tasks also become very difficult. For example, workers often have to face harsh environmental conditions since the plant is located about 100 km from the Perito Moreno Glacier.
To prevent the project from affecting the Perito Moreno Glacier, in the area of the water source, the storage height of the reservoir was reduced by 2.4 meters from the original plan, the company said.
China has been stepping up investment in Argentina in the energy sector as well as infrastructure construction in recent years, which is also well-received by the Argentina side.
China has currently become the second-largest trading partner and export destination for Argentina. It even surpassed Brazil to become the biggest trading partner of Argentina during the April to June period in 2020.
Chinese investment in Argentina currently covers numerous energy fields including the infrastructure construction of nuclear, hydropower, solar and wind power, as well as that of natural gas, oil and renewable energy, said Energy China.
As China reiterated the country's resolve to further high-level opening-up with its trade structure gradually improving, bilateral trade between China and Argentina is expected to continue developing steadily, it said.
Energy China vows to further expand its business overseas, especially in clean energy projects, as it set up its global business subsidiary, China Energy International Group Co Ltd, in Beijing in September.
The company saw its total value of signed contracts for projects overseas reach 217.15 billion yuan ($32.39 billion) in 2021, up 21.6 percent year-on-year.
According to Song Hailiang, chairman of Energy China, establishing a strong overseas presence is a key component of the company's business strategy to become a world-class clean energy group, especially in the wind, solar and hydropower sectors.
The group sees tremendous potential in clean energy development for years to come, especially in the economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, he added.
Energy China has built a sound reputation on the global stage in the past few years with its high-quality projects, including the Nestor Kirchner-Jorge Cepernic hydropower plant in Argentina, the Tengger Reservoir 60 MW floating solar project in Singapore, the Sao Lourenco water supply project in Brazil and the Umm Al Quwain independent water project in the United Arab Emirates.
