Chinese, US city gov'ts to cooperate with clean-energy companies

HONG KONG - ENN Group Co Ltd, the parent of Hong Kong-listed energy company, ENN Energy Holdings Ltd, signed a cooperative contract with the US-based Duke Energy in Washington on Tuesday, during the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

It is the first time that Chinese and US local governments have cooperated in clean energy since 2008, when the countries signed the "Framework for the 10-Year Cooperation on Energy and Environment" agreement.

The city governments of Langfang, Hebei province, and Charlotte, North Carolina have also signed the contract, pledging financial, political and human resources assistance.

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"We will deepen our partnership with Duke Energy through comprehensive cooperation on technology, finance and management," Wang Yusuo, chairman of ENN China Daily on Tuesday.

"We are seizing the chance to change our role from simply being a distributor of natural gas to that of an energy-solution provider because of government incentives in the clean-energy industry."

"The contract will accelerate the development of new technologies in the clean-energy industry and will be implemented on a large-scale in Langfang," said Wang Aimin, mayor of Langfang.

"It will also help Langfang to develop into an environmentally friendly city."

The company is setting up clean-energy demonstration projects in several provinces including Hebei, Jiangsu and Hunan.

The project in Langfang will be completed by the end of the year, according to Wang.

Analysts said the cooperation between ENN and Duke Energy will help the local governments to promote the application of clean energy, accelerate economic growth and spur employment.

Zhou Dadi, former president of the energy research department at the National Development and Reform Commission, said that technological cooperation between China and the United States is not limited to trade.

Even though the US is still a major technology exporter, China is catching up rapidly in terms of manufacturing capability and advanced-equipment research and development, Zhou said.

In some sectors such as smart-grid technology, China has even become a leader, he said.

"ENN Group will change from a product exporter to a technology exporter, because the company will share the clean-energy technology platform with Duke Energy.

"'Made-in-China' will soon be transformed into 'Created-in-China'," said Gan Zhongxue, chief technology officer of ENN.

The company began cooperating with Duke Energy in the photovoltaic sector in 2009.

The new contract will not only help ENN and Duke expand their presence in China and the US, but also help universities, research institutions and other companies in the two cities to receive benefits under the clean-energy development framework.

The two companies plan to include more partners and generate projects in the years to come.

It will be a long-term 'win-win' relationship, according to the management of ENN.