Goldwind gets more money for wind energy projects

Despite stiffening competition, China’s second-largest wind-turbine maker has taken out a multi-billion dollar loan to gain an edge over the competition.

Xinjiang Goldwind Science Technology & Co. has borrowed US$5.5 billion from China Development Bank Corporation to finance its wind power projects. Goldwind’s latest agreement comes after it received a US$1.59 billion credit facility from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. in November.

China’s state-controlled banks are signing billions of dollars of credit lines with wind and solar manufacturers to fund capacity expansion and overseas business, according to Bloomberg. Chinese wind energy companies are seeking orders overseas to battle slower sales growth after the government tightened criteria for approving new projects.

“The Chinese Development Bank is helping domestic companies fund overseas expansion and asset purchases as their home market slows,” said Lawrence Brader, a Hong Kong-based trader at Parry International Trading Ltd.

“China’s wind market nearly doubled every year from 2006 to 2010, and domestic turbine makers kept expanding capacity when growth stalled in 2011,” according to Charles Yonts, an analyst at CLSA in Hong Kong.

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