Oil major BP has flagged up its wish to strengthen investment in China through the development of clean coal and wind power technologies.
BP and the China Academy of Sciences (CAS) have signed an agreement to undertake a feasibility study into a proposed Clean Energy Commercialisation Centre (CECC). The company also signed an agreement to investigate wind power investment opportunities in China.
BP’s latest move in China is driven by its belief that clean coal and other clean energy technologies will play an important role in the country’s energy market.
The proposed CECC is intended to integrate a number of individual clean energy related technologies such as coal gasification, coal to liquids, coal to chemical, carbon capture and storage, coal bed methane and underground gasification from CAS and other institutes into competitive solutions.
The CECC would also serve as an international platform to foster collaboration among research institutes and other enterprises to improve indigenous Chinese innovation capabilities in areas such as clean coal conversion, zero emission and carbon capture and storage. BP and CAS have also agreed that the CECC would act as a cooperation platform between the two parties in order to support the development of the Sino-UK clean coal conversion related near zero emission initiative, including technology development and demonstration projects.
Together with Beijing Tianrun New Energy Investment Co., a subsidiary of Goldwind Science and Technology Co, Ltd, BP is to build and operate three 49.5 MW wind power plants near Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia.
In November 2001, BP established the “Clean Energy: Facing the Future” programme in China with CAS, and has agreed to invest $30 million over a 30 year period to fund research in clean energy technologies. The programme aims to develop and prove new clean energy options for China and the rest of the world.
