Duke To Collaborate With China's Largest Utility

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), one of America’s largest electric utilities, will explore a variety of renewable and other clean-energy technologies with China Huaneng Group, China’s biggest electric utility, as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed this week in Beijing.

The MOU between Duke Energy and China Huaneng Group, which produces more than 10% of the electricity consumed in China, encompasses high-level discussions and information-sharing on a number of renewable and clean-energy fronts.

"We find ourselves at a pivotal point in world history," said Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers. "To deal with global warming requires rapid action from all of us, and clearly China Huaneng Group and Duke Energy are playing a leadership role on this issue."

"China has committed to rapidly developing clean-energy technologies, as has the U.S.," Rogers added. "Working together, the U.S. and China can commercialize and drive down the cost of these technologies for the benefit of the entire world."

Under the MOU, top executives from both Duke Energy and China Huaneng Group will launch a series of meetings to exchange information and explore potential long-term cooperative initiatives to reduce coal plant emissions and develop other renewable sources of electricity generation.

"We look forward to a mutual sharing of information and technology between the two companies and to jointly promote the development of clean energy technology," China Huaneng Group Vice President Huang Yongda said.

One key focal point will be emerging cleaner-coal technologies including carbon capture and sequestration and coal gasification.

China Huaneng Group built China’s first CO2-capturing demonstration facility in Huaneng Beijing Cogeneration Power Plant. Also, a larger scale CO2 capturing facility in one of Huaneng’s coal-fired power plants in Shanghai is under construction, and is scheduled to be put into operation by the end of 2009.

Duke is studying the potential for carbon capture at a new 630-megawatt coal gasification power plant scheduled for completion in Edwardsport, Indiana in 2012. 

The two companies did not specifically state what renewable energy opportunities they would pursue.