Renewable Energy Asia secures deal in Inner Mongolia

REA group tasked to develop 500MW wind farm in Huade County of Inner Mongolia.

Renewable Energy Asia Group Limited (REA Group), formerly known as Superior Fastening Technology Limited, has made more headway in the wind energy business. It has secured a concession from Huade County of Inner Mongolia, PRC to develop an onshore wind farm of up to 500 megawatts (MW) capacity, and establish a wind turbine component factory, according to a REA Group report.

Under the terms of the agreement, the development of the wind farm is to be carried out in phases, with at least 83km2 of land demarcated for the wind farm. REA Group expects to receive regulatory approvals for Phase 1 of the wind farm, which will have a planned capacity of 49.5MW of wind power, by the end of 2010. The approvals for the rest of the wind farm development phases will be granted in subsequent stages. A wind farm of 49.5MW capacity is estimated to be able to significantly cut back on the use of fossil fuel and reduce up to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission per year.

In addition, the agreement also grants REA Group concession to more than 130,000m2 of land to establish a manufacturing plant for wind turbine towers and other components, which will be used for internal consumption as well as external sales. Specifically, the Group will be given first consideration in the sale of such components to other wind farm developers within Huade County. The Group is currently applying for the necessary regulatory approvals and construction of the plant is expected to commence before December 2010.

Mr Xu Jian, Chairman of REA Group, said, "We are delighted to secure another land concession, in an extremely wind-rich part of Inner Mongolia. The land concessions will enable the Group to take our wind farm development business further, and we look forward to seeing this business take flight."

This agreement is one of the several developmental milestones for REA Group following its expansion into the wind energy sector in late 2009, in an effort to develop a more sustainable income stream beyond its traditional fastening business. Two weeks ago, the Group was awarded a US$20 million master contract to manufacture wind turbine components for one of the top 10 turbine makers in the world. Earlier on, it was also awarded a concession to develop a Green Energy Park in Zhenglanqi, as well as a $7.4 million deal to manufacture wind turbine towers for a wind farm in Huaishuo, both of which are located in Inner Mongolia.