The worker, standing inside a section of what will eventually be a wind turbine, looks up as a piece of equipment on a rope is gently lowered inside through a hole.
Wearing an orange helmet, a grey T-shirt and once-white gloves that have long since turned grey, he manoeuvres the machinery as a colleague outside reaches in to help.
He works frantically inside the huge circular frameto which vast blades will be attached.
Outside this warehouse-style factory building in Baoding, a city a couple of hours south-west of Beijing that is home to 170 green-technology companies, are the 40-metre-long wind turbine blades. They appear elegantly sculpted as they lie side by side in countless rows.
Nearby, protected from the elements by cloth coverings, are scores of nacelles, the frameworks that contain all the power-generating parts of the turbine.
It is perhaps no wonder that this facility, belonging to the state-owned Guodian United Power Technology, is churning out wind turbines by the dozen.The market for them in China is booming.
Last year, the country installed almost 19 gigawatts of new wind energy capacity, taking its total to 45 gigawatts, the largest in the world.
Companies such as Guodian, which supplies all the components except the huge towers on which the turbines sit, have boosted production to capitalise on the vast investment in the sector.
Guodian produced 100 turbines in 2008, 600 in 2009 and 850 last year, all for domestic use. This year, thanks to the opening of new facilities, the company's annual production capacity will increase to 2,000 turbines, says Wang Hongbin, the company's deputy general manager.
Overall, the global market in wind turbines ispredicted to be worth US$94.7 billion (Dh347.84bn) this year, according to analysts at BTM Consult, which researches renewable energy. Last year, just over half of new installations worldwide were in China - 19.4 gigawatts out of 39.4 gigawatts.
Mr Wang points out that Guodian will "definitely" increase production even further.
"But it's hard to say what the number is. It depends on the incentives from the government," he says. "The government wants to control the growth speed of the industry. Lots of new facilities have opened in the last few years and the government needs to control the growth."
The world's second-largest economy, biggest greenhouse-gas emitter and largest electricity consumer wants at least 15 per cent of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, and officials say the target could rise to 20 per cent.
While there have been concerns from foreign companies about incentives offered to domestic companies in China, even Chinese-owned producers could feel the effects of a slight slowdown in installations forecast for the next two years. The China Wind Energy Association predicts a total of about 30 gigawatts of new wind power generation capacity will be installed this year and next as China works towards a 2020 target of at least 150 gigawatts.
Part of the reason behind an expected slight braking of development in wind power is that the country's grid system is not set up to deal with vast quantities of electricity being produced by wind turbines.
Late last year, on releasing a wind energy report, the environmental group Greenpeace said China's national grid required a "massive overhaul".
Many turbines are in sparsely populated areas, and the challenge of transmitting their electricity to major urban areas has yet to be fully overcome.
In this context it is perhaps hardly surprising, Mr Wang acknowledges, that there is a risk of oversupply, with companies forced to reduce costs, improve quality and offer better after-sales service to secure business. While China's wind power manufacturers face turbulence as the market slows a little, producers of solar power are looking at even tougher times ahead, although here the concerns stem from the overseas market.
Yingli Solar, one of China's largest producers of solar power panels and one of Baoding's first green-technology companies, proudly shows off some if its latest solar-powered innovations to visitors at its headquarters in the city. There are forest fire alarms that combine solar panels with smoke detectors and emergency rescue kits powered by the sun.
But it is solar panels for generating electricity that drive the company's balance sheet, and there is unquestionably excess production capacity, even though China itself wants to increase installed solar electricity capacity more than a hundredfold by 2020 to 50 gigawatts. The issue is a steep drop in demand from overseas, where 90 per cent of Yingli's output goes.
Global investment in the solar power industry was valued at $81.5bn last year, and Chinese manufacturers held a 62 per cent market share, although in terms of the number of panels installed, Germany was the market leader. China's annual manufacturing capacity for solar power modules is 17.6 gigawatts, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts 9.5 gigawatts of production capacity will be added this year. The organisation has said that this year, the global capacity to produce photovoltaic cells will be twice the demand for the technology. The continued investment in production facilities comes as governments in two of the world's biggest markets, Germany and Italy, have cut back on subsidies for solar power. France and Spain have also reduced subsidies.
With the prices of solar cells and panels falling, the market value of the companies making them has also tumbled this year. Yet Yingli insists there is cause for optimism.
"There's an oversupply globally. The demand is stimulated by the incentives from the government, so the demand in China is increasing, but the demand in Europe is declining," says Hank Wang, Yingli's director of international sales.
"It's a crisis, but to some companies such as us, it's an opportunity because it will force a lot of companies out of the PV [photovoltaic] industry and [those that] remain will be better," he says.
Yingli has said lower prices could stimulate further use of solar energy, a sector the Chinese government has particularly earmarked for growth after the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.The Japanese emergency has led China to say it will curtail its ambitions for nuclear power.
business@thenational.ae
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
Recycle Reuse Repurpose
New central waste facility on site at expo Dubai South area to handle estimated 173 tonne of waste generated daily by millions of visitors
Recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass will be collected from bins on the expo site and taken to the new expo Central Waste Facility on site
Organic waste will be processed at the new onsite Central Waste Facility, treated and converted into compost to be re-used to green the expo area
Of 173 tonnes of waste daily, an estimated 39 per cent will be recyclables, 48 per cent organic waste and 13 per cent general waste.
About 147 tonnes will be recycled and converted to new products at another existing facility in Ras Al Khor
Recycling at Ras Al Khor unit:
Plastic items to be converted to plastic bags and recycled
Paper pulp moulded products such as cup carriers, egg trays, seed pots, and food packaging trays
Glass waste into bowls, lights, candle holders, serving trays and coasters
Aim is for 85 per cent of waste from the site to be diverted from landfill
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MEYDAN RESULTS
6.30pm Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer).
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Galaxy Road, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Al Modayar, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
Winner Lady Parma, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Zaajer, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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