Yingli announced on September 3rd that its wholly owned subsidiary, Yingli Green Energy Europe GmbH ("Yingli Europe") and Namene Energy International Limited ("Namene"), major renewable energy solutions developer focused on West Africa, have formed a new joint venture, Yingli Namene West Africa Limited ("JV"). The JV aims to develop a total of 100 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar projects and up to 50 MW of commercial rooftop projects in Ghana and neighboring countries over the coming years and Yingli Europe will serve as the JV's preferred solar panel supplier.

According to agreements between Yingli Europe and Namene, each party holds 50% of the JV's equity. All application procedures during the project development will be funded by the JV's shareholders. Upon the completion of all the application procedures, the JV will explore the financing solutions from banks and other financial institutions to support project construction. Yingli Namene West Africa Limited will be headquartered in Accra, Ghana, and its first utility-scale projects are already under development. Construction is expected to start in 2017.

"Today's announcement marks Yingli's first investment in West African renewable energy projects as well as the continued expansion of our global downstream business," said Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and CEO of Yingli Green Energy. "We are pleased to partner with Namene, and believe that our JV is positioned to quickly execute and become successful in this market."

"As one of the world's leading solar panel manufacturers, Yingli has the right industry capabilities, brand and expertise to understand our local business requirements," said Mr. Patrick Lagrange, CEO of Namene Energy International Limited. "Therefore, Yingli is an ideal partner for us to grow our business in this fast emerging market."