Feb. 2, 2010 (China Knowledge) - Asian Development Bank has approved a technical-aid project which aims at supporting China's use of concentrated solar power technology on a large scale.

This is the first time ADB has been involved in China’s solar-power industry.

Reportedly, ADB will grant China US$1 million to implement a pilot project of 1.5 MW and carry out a feasibility evaluation on a demonstration project of 50 MW in Gansu Province.

The aid will help China build the first concentrated solar-power project in Asia and accelerate the development of large-scale solar-power generation in China.

China has made great progress in developing renewable energy sources and reducing coal dependency as well as in wind power generation, but it is still heavily restricted in solar-power generation.

It is of vital importance for gathering experience and building capacity to learn new technology through pilot projects, said Ashok Bhargava, senior energy expert of ADB's East Asia Bureau.