(Yicai Global) March 3 -- The first two new energy real estate investment trusts approved in China have raised a total of more than CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion).

They are a wind power REIT project initiated by State Power Investment with China Securities as fund manager and financial advisor and a solar energy REIT project by Beijing Energy International Holdings, according to the websites of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

According to industry analysts, the electricity generation assets of the two projects provide a new and achievable asset securitization path that serves as a good demonstration and leads the way.

The underlying assets of State Power Investment’s REIT are offshore projects in Yancheng, known as ‘China’s first offshore wind power city.’ Its appraisal value is nearly CNY7.2 billion (USD1 billion).

The project has a total installed capacity of 500 megawatts. It supplied 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to the grid every year in the past three, enough to meet the annual needs of 600,000 households of three members and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 810,000 tons.

The underlying assets of Beijing Energy International’s REIT are a 300-MW solar power station in Yulin, Shaanxi province, and a 100 MW station in Suizhou, Hubei province. They are located in the Yellow River Basin and Yangtze River Economic Belt, two major national strategic areas.

The solar power plants have been operating for more than three years, with an annual generation capacity of 576 million kWh, corresponding to income of over CNY400 million (USD58 million) a year. The two projects can save 175,600 tons of standard coal, cut 479,100 tons of carbon dioxide, and reduce the emissions of a large number of harmful substances, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, compared with thermal power generation.

The pilot scope of REITs will be further expanded to cover infrastructure fields, such as new energy, water conservancy, and new infrastructure, as soon as possible, Li Chao, vice chairman of the securities regulator, has said.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione