China and Finland cooperate on energy pilot projects, incl. geothermal
Zhengzhou, Henan, China (source: flickr/ Ken Marshall, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
17 Jan 2019
As part of a recent state visit by Finland's President, four Sino-Finnish energy sector pilot projects have been announced, including a geothermal project in Zhoukou.
Four Sino-Finnish energy sector pilot projects were announced on 14 January 2019 in connection with the state visit to China of President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö. The pilot projects focus on clean energy supply, district heating and cooling solutions, smart and flexible energy solutions and renewable energy solutions.
The pilot projects announced by National Energy Administration, NEA this week are the Energy Internet in Lunan, geothermal in Zhoukou, biomass gasification for coal fueled power plant in Huarun, and the Micro-energy grids in Nansha. Chinese and Finnish energy companies and other stakeholders will now, in cooperation launch concrete measures to carry out these four projects.
At the project application stage, the technological strengths of both countries and their resolve to reach tangible results were emphasised. The completion of the pilot projects is based on the cooperation between Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and National Energy Administration.
In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Finnish and Chinese ministries in June 2017, China’s National Energy Administration opened a China-wide project application round, which attracted twenty applications in total.
After a preliminary shortlisting by the China’s National Energy Administration, the Finnish-Chinese group of experts selected the final four pilot projects. The Finnish panel of experts, which consisted of representatives from Business Finland, universities and the corporate world, emphasised the importance of innovative solutions that feature an extensive company offering and that can be easily duplicated in different markets.
“We are engaged in long-term cooperation with the China’s National Energy Administration, and from the very beginning we have been building on cooperation based on the strengths of both countries. Opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector were taken into account in the Joint Declaration signed during the state visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in 2017,” says Pentti Puhakka, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
“The Finnish companies participating in Business Finland’s Smart Energy Finland programme offer innovative, reliable and clean solutions. The active participation of these companies in our activities in China has been essential for the creation of these pilot projects and for building cooperation based on trust,” says Helena Sarén, Programme Director for Smart Energy Finland Programme, Business Finland.
Source: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, release
