Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade visits Arctic Green Energy’s Shaanxi Operations
On June 29-30, Mr. Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Iceland visited Arctic Green Energy’s (formerly Orka Energy) Shaanxi operations in China. During his visit, the Minister and his delegation along with Mr. Qiao Zheng, the Vice-Mayor of Xi’an city, witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement on geothermal utilization between Arctic Green Energy’s (formerly Orka Energy) China subsidiary, SGEG, and Zhouzhi district of Xi’an City.
According to the agreement, both parties have agreed to develop in cooperation an overall district heating plan for Zhouzhi District, where geothermal energy will be used for space heating wherever possible. In exchange for exclusivity rights, SGEG commits to utilize Zhouzhi District’s geothermal resources in a sustainable way and the government of Xi’an City commits to form supportive policies for SGEG to realize the objectives of this agreement.
Mr. Sveinsson furthermore visited one of Arctic Green Energy’s (formerly Orka Energy) 96 heat centrals that the company has in operation on the Chinese mainland. The Minister was highly impressed with the success of Arctic Green Energy’s (formerly Orka Energy) China joint venture and remarked that the geothermal cooperation between Arctic Green Energy (formerly Orka Energy) and Sinopec Star is one of the most important collaboration projects between Iceland and China.
Mr. Sveinsson and his delegation furthermore held meetings with Mr. Hu Yue, deputy director of the Standing Committee of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress, as well as representatives from Xianyang city during his visit. Both Mr. Sveinsson as well as his counterparts from Shaanxi Province reiterated the importance of strong official support for Arctic Green Energy’s (formerly Orka Energy) geothermal operations for the continuing expansion of the company’s sustainable and environmentally friendly energy solutions within the province.
Arctic Green Energy (formerly Orka Energy) currently operates 48 geothermal heat centrals and 30 geothermal wells within Shaanxi Province, with 24 new heat centrals expected to come online this year.
