Given the market condition, managing cost remains one of the key factors to determine whether a new hydro project can be built or not. For most projects to be developed, equipment cost makes up a significant portion of overall cost. This can be especially true when developers looking at projects at existing dams. Statistics show that many potential hydro projects in North America cannot be developed simply because the costs are too high to make them profitable. When it is time for equipment selection, we heard many owners say “Our projects simply will not pencil out without an alternative supply of high quality equipment with much more competitive costs from countries like China…” If you are a project developer of a small hydro project, and you see equipment bids from qualified bidders ranging from about 2million dollars to over 6 million dollars for one project, and less than 2 million dollars to over 4 million dollars for another project, what would you do? It’s no longer a secret that these savings are only possible if you look beyond the border. With a global market, sophisticated developers and their engineers are looking for the most cost-effective high quality equipment solution from the world. Many have asked and talked about China. But what has been the track record in North America for equipment made in China? What is China really capable of with its hydro technology and manufacturing? What can be learned from those projects with Chinese equipment, and what can be improved to best take advantage of what is available?
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