Lijian City in Yunnan province, China will see a total of 300 megawatts of solar energy projects by end of 2015. City officials, including Mayor He Lianghui and Vice Mayor Zhang Jingquan, have signed a cooperation agreement with solar company Clenergy and CGN Solar Energy for the development of solar power projects in their area. The two companies will team up to invest 3.9 billion yuan ($625 million) to develop the solar power plants. They will also assist with the Lijing government’s solar energy planning between 2013 and 2020.
The Lijing government seeks to bring advanced solar technologies to the city and promote solar applications in both residential and building integrated photovoltaic market sectors. “To build Lijiang into an important clean energy base is one of Lijian’s development objectives,” said Mayor He.
The first phase of the project is expected to boost the local economy, lessen pollution and increase job opportunities. Lijian is considered an ideal area for solar power developments because of its low-latitude and high-altitude location. It receives an average of 2,530 hours of sunshine annually.