China to pursue ambitious 5-year geothermal district heating plan
Geothermal Installation, Xian Yang, Shaanxi Province, China (source: Shaanxi Green Energy)
Alexander Richter
22 Jun 2011
In its upcoming National 5-year Energy Plan, China intends to list geothermal energy with a goal to supply heating for up to 350 million square meters in the next five years, with an expected market size of $10.8 billion.
Reported last week, China intends to list geothermal energy as renewable clean energy in the National 12th Five-Year Energy Plan (2011-2015), with a goal to supply heating to 350 million square meters in the next five years, which has an expected market size of around 70 billion yuan ($10.8 billion), based on news from Shanghai Securities News.
Li Yuanpu, the managing director of the China Renewable Energy Society (CRES), said it is expected the utilization of geothermal energy will reach its peak during the next Five-Year Plan and related pumping facilities manufacturers, sales industries and service providers will also benefit from the development.
Guan Fengjun, the head of the Geological Environment Department at the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said, “China has 12 major geothermal energy basins with energy reserves equal to 853 billion tons of the standard coal equivalent. Each year we can cut our carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3 billion tons.”
In addition there are proved reserves in the earth that are 3,000 to 10,000 meters deep, which amounts to 860 trillion tons of the standard coal equivalent, 260, 000 times China’s annual energy consumption.”
MLR is set to initiate geothermal energy surveying, mapping and exploration projects during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), he added.
In the meantime, the rapid development of geothermal energy will promote an overall upgrade of the energy industry and spur local governments to adopt policies favorable to clean energy providers, according to the Shanghai Securities News.
Reported earlier this year, China intends for 2011 to explore and evaluate shallow-lying geothermal energy in 29 provincial capital cities across the country, including Shijiazhuang, Shenyang and Zhengzhou, according to Wang Xuelong, deputy director of the China Geological Survey.”
Source: China Daily
