(Yicai Global) March 25 -- Two private Chinese firms have announced plans to build photovoltaic power stations with a combined output of 2,000 megawatts in the country’s northwest, amounting to a total investment of CNY7.75 billion (USD1.2 billion), to further tap the country’s renewable energy resources.

Guangdong No. 2 Hydropower Engineering plans will invest CNY6 billion (USD919 million) in a 1,500 MW PV power station in Hotan, northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that will feed into the local grid at market prices, the engineering firm said yesterday.

Meanwhile, wind turbine tower equipment maker Qingdao Tianneng Heavy Industries will spend CNY1.75 billion to build a 500MW plant in Golmud in northwestern Qinghai province that should be ready at the end of next year, the firm said. No mention was made of the expected retail price.

The government has been phasing out subsidies for PV power projects as the cost to build them has dropped to levels comparable with thermal power generation.

No. 2 Hydropower [SHE:002060] slid 1.46 percent today to close at CNY3.38 (USD0.52) while Tianneng Heavy [SHE:300569] gained 3.47 percent to close at CNY14.89 (USD2.28).

Editor: Kim Taylor