Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited has announced that its holding subsidiary, Yingli Energy (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Yingli Beijing"), has begun the construction of a 20 MW solar power plant located in Shule County, Xinjiang Province, China.

Upon its completion in the second quarter of 2015, the project will generate approximately 28 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually -- enough to meet nearly 30 per cent of Shule County's residential power demand. According to Yingli, this will offset about 17,000 tons of carbon emissions each year, which is equivalent to planting more than 21 million trees.

"It is an honor to bring solar power to Shule County for the very first time, and we applaud the local government's efforts to encourage renewable energy project development," said Mr. Liansheng Miao, chairman and CEO of Yingli Green Energy. "We aim to expand our operations and accelerate the growth of the clean energy economy throughout Xinjiang Province, where we have already developed more than 100 MW of solar projects."