China bans new small coal-based power generators
(AFP)Updated: 2007-03-07 14:37 China will no longer allow new coal-based power generators with a capacity below 300,000 kilowatts to be built, hoping to alleviate pressure on the environment, state media reported Wednesday.
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The sun sets over a hazy and polluted Beijing, January 2007. China will no longer allow new coal-based power generators with a capacity below 300,000 kilowatts to be built, hoping to alleviate pressure on the environment, according to state media. [AFP]
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The decision is part of efforts to meet a target of cutting energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent and pollution by 10 percent by 2010 from levels in in 2005.
Chinese officials have admitted that they missed energy efficiency targets for 2006 by a wide margin.
Experts argue that coal power generators with capacity below 300,000 kilowatts, which are relatively inefficient and generate more pollution, should be replaced by generators with higher capacity.
The Xinhua news agency reported earlier that power generation used more than 1.2 billion tonnes of coal last year, half of China's total coal consumption.
According to official statistics, coal-based power generators with relatively small capacities were responsible for 35 percent of China's total sulphur dioxide emissions and 52 percent of total soot emissions of the sector.
In January, the government ordered the closure of coal power generators with capacities below 200,000 kilowatts.
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