The chip giant's investment arm is interested in the world's largest nation

Oct 29, 2008 08:34 GMT  ·  By

Intel Capital has recently invested millions of dollars into various Chinese firms, dealing with renewable energy and alternative power sources. In fact, the corporation has allotted some 500 million dollars in project funds to be invested in China. The money will go to companies dealing with capturing solar energy and methane gas for electricity, as well as to firms constructing ice-cooled air conditioning devices.

 

Trony Solar Holdings is now the beneficiary of $20 million. The Chinese thin-film solar cell producer will now be able to develop a thriving business inside the country, especially considering the environmental problems that China is and will be faced with in the future. Expanding fossil fuel use is expected to further damage increasing numbers of habitats over the next couple of decades.

 

Another company that received additional funding is Ice Energy, which added some $33 million to their budget. Furthermore, investment opportunities of up to $150 million are also available for the company, which manufactures air conditioners that use ice to cool down the air, thus reducing the levels of electricity the devices would otherwise need. Wide-scale implementation of this type of air conditioner in China would mean that new power plants will no longer have to be constructed, thus reducing the levels of pollution.

 

Blue Source, a company that deals with capturing natural gases from waste disposal spots, such as landfills, sold half of its stakes to Goldman Sachs, which will, in turn, finance carbon trapping projects. The latter will then sale and trade the carbon caps it generates at the stock exchange, for profits. Methane gas and natural gases near oil shafts will be trapped by various Blue Source projects.

 

The ever-increasing sums of money that are invested in China could potentially offset the large environmental impact that much of the nation's polluting technologies have on increasing numbers of habitats.