Tuesday 6 February 2007

Llewellyn hopeful of Chinese power deal

Launceston Examiner
Tuesday 6/2/2007 Page: 8

ENERGY Minister David Llewellyn will fly later this week to Beijing, where he is expected to secure a lucrative deal with China's largest power generator, China Datang Corporation. Details of an impending announcement are being kept tightly under wraps, but the trade mission follows a successful visit by Chinese executives to Tasmania last week.

The delegation toured Hydro Tasmania's Lake Gordon power station and Roaring 40s operations at Woolnorth on the West Coast.

The Beijing-based company has assets of more than $12 billion and a total generation capacity of more than 50,000 MW - more than the total for the whole of Australia. It plans to build 1700 MW in renewable wind assets by 2010 and is already working with Roaring 40s on the 58-turbine Shuangliao Wind Farm in the Jilin Province.

Mr Llewellyn said ahead of last week's visit that the project represented only the "tip of the iceberg" for Tasmania's involvement in China.

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