A new clean energy fund with a capital of RMB 10.02 billion ($1.55 billion) has been announced in China by 2 government backed companies. According to Reuters, the fund has been set up by coal producer China Energy Investment Corporation (CEIC) and investment holding company China Reform Holdings Corporation.
As per an announcement from the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the new energy fund will invest in clean and renewable energy projects in the fields of solar, wind, hydrogen and energy storage. It is expected to generate close to RMB 50 billion ($7.72 billion) worth of financing upon launch.
Other partners of the fund were revealed as CEIC's subsidiaries Shenhua Energy Co., Ltd. and Guohua Energy Investment Co., Ltd, along with China Reform Assets Management Co., Ltd., and Orient Asset Management.
This step from state owned firms shows the Chinese government is making efforts to do good on its promise to go carbon neutral before 2060 to achieve 'green recovery', for which wind and solar power will be its natural allies (see China Declares Carbon Neutrality Goal By 2060). In 2020, China surprisingly added 48.2 GW of solar power including 29.5 GW in Q4/2020 alone which is the second largest annual installation volume so far after adding 53 GW in 2017 (see China Installed 48.2 GW Solar PV Capacity In 2020).