China pushing geothermal heating through new guidelines
Coal plant on the Yangtze River, China (source: flickr/ ishmatt, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
9 Feb 2013
China has issued new guideliens that aim to push geothermal heating to replace up to 50 million tonnes of coal for heating in the country.
Reported from China, the country has issued new guidelines this week that “aim to provide geothermal energy of 50 million tonnes of coal equivalent (TCE) annually by 2020.
By 2015, geothermal energy shall supply power of 20 million tonnes of TCE annuallyand a national information system on the energy shall be in service, said the guideline, jointly issued by the National Energy Administration, the Ministry of Finance, theMinistry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-RuralDevelopment.
Under the same time frame, geothermal energy shall provide heating for 500 millionsquare meters of housing, and installed capacity fueled by geothermal energy shouldtop 100,000 kilowatts, the guideline said.
The renewable and clean energy can help relieve energy pressure and boostecological progresses, the statement added.
The State Council in late January approved an energy consumption control target, partof the country’s efforts to correct overuse and foster greener growth.
It set a target to keep total energy consumption below 4 billion tonnes of TCE by 2015,with electricity consumption below 6.15 trillion kilowatt hours.”
Source: People Daily
