OREANDA-NEWS. SGCC launched its energy R&D center in Portugal, a joint project with REN. The two sides also signed a wind power technical consultancy agreement. SGCC EVP Zheng Baosen attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Chinese Ambassador to Portugal Huang Songfu and REN CEO Rui Cartaxo attended the event. Portugal’s Secretary of State of the Treasury Maria Luнs Albuquerque sent a congratulatory message.

It is the first oversea technical R&D center for SGCC, jointly funded by its subsidiary China Electric Power Research Institute and REN. The center will have four focuses: simulation of energy systems; management of integration of renewable energy sources into the grid; smart grid technologies; and economy and energy markets. It will give full play to SGCC’s technological advantages in UHV and smart grid, and innovate in intellectual property rights of grid technology with market application value while working together with high-end tech talents in Europe. In the next 5 years, the center will be built into a professional R&D institute of grid technology with considerable influence, further consolidating SGCC’s leading stance in the global electric power technology.

As SGCC is developing wind power rapidly, the Jibei Electric Power Company, which belongs to SGCC, signed a technical consultancy agreement with REN to leverage REN’s advantages in new energy generation and grid integration, wind power integration standards, as well as the optimization of large-capacity wind power interconnection to the grid and to meet the actual needs for the operation of National Wind/PV/Energy Storage and Transmission Joint Demonstration Project.

These two projects were another concrete implementation for the Umbrella Agreement after SGCC became REN’s shareholder, significant to expand an all-rounded cooperation between the two sides, and realize a complementary and win-win partnership. It was also an advancement in the economic and trade cooperation between China and Portugal.

During the talk between Zheng Baosen and Rui Cartaxo after the ceremony, Zheng mentioned that SGCC’s strategic investment in REN was of great significance as it was the first step for the company to enter the European market. In the past year, the two sides have intensified communication with each other and many cooperative projects were making great progress with good momentum. Cartaxo said that SGCC has been a great help to REN in terms of financing and international projects, which promotes REN’s healthy development. The two companies agreed that the long-term win-win strategic partnership could benefit the common interests for both and that they would continue expanding the cooperation scale to enhance their sustainable development.

Principle people in charge from Jibei Electric Power Company and China Electric Power Research Institute attended the ceremony and the talk.