Chinese firm to build solar research center in Puerto Rico

San Juan, May 4 (IANS/EFE) Chinese company Jiangsu Sainty will build a research center in Puerto Rico that will study new ways to use the sun's rays to generate electricity.

Sen. Cirilo Tirado, of the governing Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, said in a press release that the first phase of the project will carry an investment cost of $500,000.

The center will be built in Manati, a city on the Caribbean island's northern coast, and will be led by a group of young Puerto Rican engineers and researchers.

"We support this and any other research and studies related to the development of alternative and renewable sources of energy production," Tirado, who chairs the Senate of Puerto Rico's Commission on Natural and Environmental Resources, said.

He said the goal is for the center to serve as a research lab for university students and academics at higher education institutions on the US commonwealth.

Jiangsu Sainty, which began operating in China 37 years ago, has more than 100 subsidiaries worldwide, 200,000 employees, nearly $20 million in assets and annual revenues of more than $10 billion.

The Chinese company has participated in thermal energy, hydraulic, and wind, solar and nuclear projects throughout the world.

--IANS/EFE

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