The government Thursday unveiled a detailed mandate setting out
how thousands of China's coal-fired power plants could be
"desulphured."
Made public by the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC), the mandate says the government could help provide
technical guidance and support to power plants that are not
technically familiar with the necessary new equipment.
The mandate also says that the government at various levels
should play a bigger role in selecting technology, supervising
installation and monitoring operations.
The mandate urges the government and the energy industry to
speed up the desulphurization process, and calls for the
establishment of a sound market monitoring system in three years'
time.
The mandate requires that desulphurization equipment should be
assessed in terms of advantages and disadvantages, investment
utilization and localization after being put into operation. This
exercise will help the planning and development of future
projects.
"Desulphurization is essential if we are to protect our
environment," said a commission spokesman.
Most of China's electricity is produced by burning coal, a
process that produces sulphur dioxide (SO2), a component
of acid rain. Acid rain can erode buildings and harm crops, and
prolonged exposure to SO2 can lead to diseases such as
lung dropsy.
East China, especially the area around the Yangtze River Delta,
suffers the most from acid rain. If nothing is done now, the
country will discharge 28 million tons of SO2 by 2020,
16 million tons more than the country's atmosphere can accommodate,
warned environmental experts.
Statistics from the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA)
say the damage to the environment and human health from acid rain
and SO2 pollution translates into economic losses of 110
billion yuan (US$13.3 billion) a year.
To reduce these losses, China has decided to use technology that
changes SO2 into gypsum, a kind of building
material.
The mandate encourages power plants to equip themselves with
desulphurization facilities and has promised to offer preferential
policies to help with the high costs.
For new coal plants that are already equipped, the government
will offer subsidies. There is as yet no similar incentive for
older plants.
An energy expert at Tsinghua
University said the desulphurization units are expensive to
install and operate and the new mandate goes some way to addressing
the problem.
But the expert, who refused to be identified, was concerned that
without full cooperation from environmental authorities, the
effectiveness of this new regulation is uncertain.
He said the owners of the facilities have full authority over
how they run their plants and the government cannot interfere in
their choice of technology.
The main barriers to SO2 and acid rain control come
from the country's excessive demand for energy and a large number
of small power plants that are coal-run.
China plans to shut down small coal-burning power plants when
domestic energy demands can be met by alternative means.
Some plants that were closed have had to resume production to
help meet current demands.
(China Daily May 20, 2005)