The solar branch of Dutch energy giant Shell Group announced in Beijing on Friday that it has won a contract from the Chinese government to supply solar electricity to the remote areas in southwestern and northwestern China.

The announcement came after China formally launched a national program on electricity supply for its remote places.

A statement issued by Shell China said that under the 2.7-million-euro contract, Shell Solar will install centralized systems in the villages in Yunnan Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region next year.

The contract is for the pilot phase of China's Brightness Program that aims to cover remote villages also in Gansu and Qianghai provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The solar electricity program is co-funded by China's Ministry of Finance and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German state-owned development bank.

China has a large population lacking electricity in the remote northwestern and southwestern regions. According to the statistics at the end of 1999, about 7 million households had no access to electricity supply in those areas.

(People's Daily November 29, 2003)