Apollo Solar Energy Inc., a vertically integrated miner, refiner and producer of high-purity tellurium and tellurium-based metals for the solar photovoltaic industry, has signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with the Ningguo City municipal government.
Under the LOI, the parties would enter into a future joint venture that would build and operate the Ningguo-Apollo Solar Energy Community, to be located in Anhui province, China.
The LOI provides Apollo with an opportunity to become a significant shareholder in a future venture with the Ningguo City Investment Co., which could demonstrate the cost-efficient use of solar energy on a community-wide scale. Apollo would exclusively manage and operate the construction of Ningguo-Apollo Solar Energy Community.
The new all-solar energy community will likely cover an area between 30 and 50 square kilometers. It would involve the building – on a project-by-project basis – of a group of grid-connected solar power stations, economical lighting systems and solar photovoltaic industrial parks to showcase a model community neighborhood.
The parties anticipate the aggregate investment to be made by the joint venture in creating the new community, including the building of a 10 GW grid-connected solar power station, will be between 60 billion and 100 billion yuan ($8.5 billion-$14 billion), and will take between six and eight years to complete.
SOURCE: Apollo Solar Energy Inc.
