Beijing will explore new energy resources
December 1, 2000 - Xinhau News Agency
Beijing is expected to improve its energy consumption
structure by exploring new energy resources such as
geothermal power, solar energy, bio-energy and wind
power to reduce the use of traditional energy resource
like coal, gas and oil.
The exploration of new energy resources will also
benefit Beijing's goal to win the bid for 2008 Olympic
Games, said Sinoprojects.com, the leading website
on investment projects in China.
The consumption of the traditional energy sources
has resulted in huge amount of pollutant discharge
into the city's air whereas the upgrading of the city's
energy consumption structure will improve the air
quality of Beijing, Sinoprojects quoted an analysis
of current resource reserve by the State Development
Planning Commission.
According to the analysis, China's coal, oil, gas
and hydropower reserve will be running out within
one century.
However, it noted, Beijing boasts potential renewable
resources reserves, which will help the city use more
clean energy resources while reduce the consumption
of traditional energy resources.
Beijing has 150 geothermal wells, capable of producing
8.8 million cubic meters of hot water annually. About
400,000 cubic meters of the resource can be sued for
heating.
If Beijing accelerates the exploration of its geothermal
resource, the new power will solve heating problem
for about 20-30 million square meters of area, equivalent
to the consumption of 3 million tons of coal.
The city also claims abundant solar energy resource.
The average annual sunlight-covering time of the city
is about 2,594 hours. The solar energy resource could
be widely introduced to electricity generating and
heating.
Beijing is capable of becoming the world's largest
solar energy consumption city.
The city's agriculture sector produces 5.2 million
tons of crop stems annually, 4.17 million tons of
which capable of being generated into energy.
But only 1.56 million tons of the total resources
are generated into energy. Another major bio-energy
choice is the city's rubbish, which amounts to 4.7
million tons annually. If half of the rubbish are
burned to generate electricity, about 340,000 tons
of coal will be saved.
The last choice for new energy resource falls to
wind power. Yanqing County in northwestern suburbs
of Beijing is capable of greatly tapping he wind power.
By installing 100,000-kw electricity generating units,
the annual electricity generating capacity is to reach
175 million kwh.
The new resources will help provide a new energy
supply equivalent to 6.48 million tons of coal and
the discharge of pollutants will drop 640, 000 tons.
According to the analysis of the commission, Beijing
needs a construction fund about 800 million yuan to
tap the potential new resources.
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