GreenergyDaily
Mar. 7, 2024
1. Construction of China's first smart EV charging and battery-swapping demonstration zone has been completed in Jiangsu province and will shorten the queuing time needed for EV charging. The zone covers nearly 500 square km in the cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou. With about 1,300 charging piles, it is expected to serve over 500,000 new energy vehicle drivers.
2. The Ubolratana Dam hydro-floating solar hybrid power plant, jointly built by Chinese & Thai companies, started commercial operation Tuesday in Thailand, integrating floating solar panels, clean hydropower, high-efficiency energy storage systems & smart energy management systems.
3. BAIC Motor yesterday signed an MoU with the South Korean city of Goyang to build a KWR4 trillion (USD3 billion) EV plant with an annual production capacity target of 200,000 units there, South Korean media Chosun Biz reported yesterday.
4. China's imports of crude oil rose in the first two months of the year compared with the same period in 2023, but they were also weaker than the preceding months, continuing a trend of softening purchases by the world's biggest buyer. Official customs data released on Thursday showed crude imports of 88.31 million metric tons in the January-February period, up 5.1% from the same period in 2023.
5. A proposed joint venture that would allow world No. 4 automaker Stellantis to build and sell Leapmotor's electric vehicles outside China has received approval from a Chinese regulator, according to Reuters citing two sources familiar with the matter. China's National Development and Reform Commission has given its approval for the JV, said one of the sources, adding that the deal is still waiting on regulatory approval in other markets.
6. China's exports jumped at the start of the year, offering an early, positive signal for recovering global demand as the world's 2nd-largest economy contends with trade curbs and geopolitical tensions.
7. China's total import and export of goods expanded 8.7% year on year in yuan terms in the first two months of 2024, official data showed Thursday. From January to February, the country's foreign trade in goods stood at 6.61 trillion yuan (about 930.96 billion U.S. dollars), according to the General Administration of Customs.
8. A total of 60 Chinese-manufactured wind turbine blades, each weighing 33 tons, departed from N China's Tianjin Port for Germany recently. The 80-m-long blades are for 4.6MW wind turbines specially designed to meet the demands of the international market.
9. On March 7, according to BNEF statistics, global new photovoltaic installed capacity reached a new high in 2023, increasing 76% year-on-year to 444GW. BNEF predicted that the growth rate of new global photovoltaic installed capacity is expected to slow down this year, increasing by 29% year-on-year to 574GW.
10. According to SNE research data released recently, the global installed capacity of power batteries in January 2024 was 51.5 GWh, a 60.6% increase compared to the previous year. In the same month, CATL's market share of power batteries reached 39.7%, almost 40%, which is a significant increase of 5.8% compared to the previous year. The lead of CATL's market share over the second-ranked BYD has also expanded from 16.7% to 25.3%.
