19 October
2006 - An Australian manufacturer of energy efficient
insulation panels, CSR Insulation, has opened
its first 100 per cent Australian-owned manufacturing
plant in China, building on the strong sales growth
from Australia and its other joint venture operations
in China.
The new $20 million plant in
Guangzhou will make CSR's BradcoreTM panels and
once the second phase is completed it will also
make rockwool, which is an insulation material
made from abundantly available basalt rock.
By improving the insulation
in buildings, bradcoreTM panels will help keep
buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter,
reducing the need for energy-intensive air conditioning
and heating.
Minister for the Environment
and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, today opened
CSR's new plant and performed the ground breaking
ceremony for the second plant, saying CSR's insulation
products would help China achieve significant
energy savings.
"Including its joint ventures,
CSR now has four manufacturing plants in China
that are capable of making a total of 38,000 tonnes
of insulation material a year, along with 500,000
m2 of insulation panels," Senator Campbell
said.
"Rapidly growing energy
demand is causing energy costs in China to rise,
and is encouraging companies to reduce their energy
consumption," Senator Campbell said.
"Governments and businesses
in China are also beginning to recognise the environmental
and social costs of high energy consumption.
"This situation creates
a great opportunity for Australian companies with
energy efficient technologies to enter the massive
Chinese market. These are the types of opportunities
the renewable energy business mission to China
is helping to create.
"Climate change is a global
challenge that requires global solutions. Deploying
Australian technologies is one practical way we
can work with countries like China to help reduce
global greenhouse gas emissions and meet China's
growing energy demands.
For more information, to check
the Minister’s media schedule in China, or to
download the latest photos and transcripts, visit
www.greenhouse.gov.au/international/china.
Rob Broadfield / Jahda Swanborough
Australian company wins five-star
business opportunity in China
19 October 2006 - Australian
sustainable design and energy efficient building
products will be used to retrofit China’s first
5-star building in Tianjin.
Located just south of China’s
capital, Beijing, Tianjin city has contracted
Maunsell Australia to help them plan a complete
energy efficient retrofit of their Environment
Protection Bureau building.
The Minister for the Environment
and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell—currently leading
Australia’s largest ever renewable energy and
energy efficiency business mission to China—today
announced Australian Government funding of $80,000
for the project.
Senator Campbell said the funding
would be used to prepare a detailed design that
could be used to make the building an energy efficient
showcase and to demonstrate Australian technologies.
“Practical international cooperation
at a local level provides excellent opportunities
for Australian companies to demonstrate the benefits
of energy efficiency technologies and products,”
Senator Campbell said.
“This project will be the first
complete 5-star ‘green’ retrofit of a building
in China. Australian expertise and products will
be on display, saving energy, reducing greenhouse
gases and providing more comfortable workplaces
for workers in the building.
“China’s energy demands are
accelerating and energy efficiency will become
increasingly important, which is why energy efficiency
is one of the highest priorities for the Australia-China
Climate Change Partnership.
“A 5-star building, such as
Tianjin’s Environment Protection Bureau, will
be seen as a‘lighthouse’ in China – demonstrating
the effectiveness and comfort of Australian sustainable
design and energy efficient products in a Chinese
context.
“This building alone will save
200 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year and there
are 50,000 similar government buildings in China.
If the process is repeated for these buildings
the savings in both energy and greenhouse gas
emissions will be enormous – about the same as
stopping all emissions from the Northern Territory.
“Climate change is a global
challenge and Australia will continue to work
with other countries to take practical actions
that will make a real difference.”
For more information, to check
the Minister’s media schedule in China, or to
download the latest photos, visit www.greenhouse.gov.au/international/china.
Rob Broadfield
Jahda Swanborough
Australian company providing
solar solutions for China
18 October 2006 - BP Solar Australia,
the largest manufacturer of solar panels in the
southern hemisphere, is using its solar technology,
engineering and design expertise to help China
meet its rapidly expanding energy needs.
The Australian business has
joined China’s Xinjiang SunOasis solar photovoltaic
company to form BP SunOasis, a joint venture that
is manufacturing, marketing and selling solar
photovoltaic (PV) products and systems in China.
Minister for the Environment
and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, today officially
opened the new BP SunOasis office in the Chinese
city of Xi’an and celebrated the manufacture of
the 50,000th solar module since the joint venture
began operating in January this year.
“China is investing heavily
in solar power solutions, with plans for its domestic
solar PV market to grow from 20 megawatts in 2005
to 10,000 megawatts in 2020,” Senator Campbell
said.
“This is an enormous expansion
that, in Australian terms, will provide power
to 2 million homes.
“Given Australia’s world-class
solar expertise, the joint venture is a ‘perfect
fit’ that will help China meet its growing energy
needs, reduce global greenhouse emissions and
generate profits for both Australian and Chinese
businesses.”
Senator Campbell is currently
leading the largest ever renewable energy business
mission to China, to open up opportunities for
Australia’s renewable energy industries and further
explore cooperative action on climate change.
“The BP SunOasis venture is
a great example of how Australia can export its
renewable energy technologies and expertise to
world markets, and is the type of opportunity
the renewable energy business mission to China
is helping to create.”
Under the BP Solar brand, the
Xi’an manufacturing facility will also export
solar PV modules to markets in Asia and Europe.
Senator Campbell said climate change was a challenge
that demanded an effective international response,
and the development and deployment of low emissions
technologies was a vital part of the global effort.
“Australia and China’s strong
cooperation on climate change is providing a real
avenue through which this can be achieved,” he
said.
For more information, to check
the Minister’s latest media schedule in China,
or to download the latest photos, transcripts
or voice recordings, visit www.greenhouse.gov.au/international/china.
Rob Broadfield
Jahda Swanborough
Australian Business Mission
to China Celebrates Australian Company's Success
17 October 2006 - Australia
is taking a progressive step towards reducing
the impact of global climate change and providing
clean reliable energy by establishing partnerships
with China in renewable energy projects.
Opening the Shuangliao wind
energy installation in remote far north China
today, Minister for the Environment and Heritage,
Senator Ian Campbell, said the installation was
an excellent example of international cooperation
on climate change.
Senator Campbell said the installation
combined Australian experience and expertise with
a large and rapidly expanding Chinese market for
renewable energy.
With China’s booming economy
and growing population, which now stands at 1.3
billion, China contributes 14.8 per cent to the
world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, compared
to Australia’s 1.46 per cent. But China has been
increasingly turning to renewable energy options
as global warming becomes a larger concern.
Developed as a joint programme
between Australian-based renewable energy company,
Roaring 40s, and the Datang Jilin Power Generation
Company, the 49 megawatt installation will supply
enough energy to power about 30,000 homes and
save up to 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each
year.
“The Australia-China Climate
Change Partnership has set a framework for cooperation,
encouraging business contacts between Australian
and Chinese companies and sponsoring business
visits from the China Renewable Energy Industry
Association,” said Senator Campbell who is in
China this week to lead Australia’s largest ever
renewable energy business mission to China.
“China is an economic powerhouse
and it has an enormous demand for energy. By 2020,
total grid-connected wind power in China is expected
to be about 30GW, which is more than enough to
power the equivalent of every household in Australia
and New Zealand.
“Australian companies can benefit
from partnerships with Chinese industry, Chinese
consumers can benefit from increased energy supply,
and the global environment can benefit from reduced
greenhouse gas emissions.
“Climate change is a global
challenge that needs countries to work together
to develop and deploy low emission technologies.
It will require partnerships between governments
and industries and I’m currently leading this
renewable energy business mission to China to
help forge such partnerships.
“I congratulate Roaring 40s
and the Datang Jilin Power Generation Company
on their successful partnership.
“The expansion of home-grown
industries into massive markets like China will
help them achieve economies-of-scale, which should
in turn help bring down the global price of these
technologies.”
A media background paper is
attached.
For more information, to check
the Minister’s latest media schedule in China,
or to download the latest photos, transcripts
or voice recordings, visit www.greenhouse.gov.au/international/china.
Media contact: Rob Broadfield
Jahda Swanborough
MEDIA BACKGROUNDER
Project: Shuangliao Wind Energy Installation
What:
A joint venture between wind
energy company Roaring 40s and the Datang Jilin
Power Generation Company to build a 49 megawatt
wind energy installation at Shuangliao in China’s
far north.
Roaring 40s is itself a joint venture between
Hydro Tas and the China Light and Power Asia group.
Datang Jilin Power Generation Company is one of
five major state-owned electricity generation
corporations in China
Benefits:
Climate change – in full production,
the Shuangliao project will produce enough clean
energy to power at least 30,000 homes and save
200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each
year.
Commercial – the project will
showcase commercial opportunities to other Australian
renewable energy companies and deliver benefits
to consumers in China.
Who: Australian renewable energy company, Roaring
40s, and China Light and Power Asia group, one
of China’s five major state-owned electricity
generation corporations.
