In an effort to enhance energy efficiency and cut pollution, the
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has ordered the
closure of small units at 64 coal-fired power plants across the
nation within the next five years.
These power generation units, each having a capacity of 50,000
kilowatts or less, turn out 5.34 million kilowatts in total. They
will be closed between now and 2010, the NDRC said in a statement
on its website on Friday.
The units account for just over 1 per cent of China's 2004
installed capacity, which reached 440 gigawatts (GW).
All or parts of the units at 10 plants located in provinces such
as Henan, Shanxi and Hunan are on the NDRC blacklist for closure by
the end of this year.
"In order to better utilize energy resources, protect the
environment and promote the sustainable growth of the country's
power sector, we will gradually close the small coal-driven units
which are energy-intensive, low in efficiency and highly
polluting," the policy planner said in a statement.
The move is in line with the government's blueprint for cutting
heavy reliance on coal and oil in the electricity industry, and
comes after the industry watchdog predicted a power supply surplus
in a couple of years, although the country is still suffering from
electricity shortfalls.
Industry sources say the small-sized units use 100 grams of coal
more to generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity than larger
ones.
Wang Yonggan, secretary-general of the China Electricity Council
(CEC) earlier this month told reporters the country's electricity
installed capacity will reach 510 GW by the end of this year and
hit 650 GW by the end of 2007, which was originally the 2010
target.
By the end of July, construction of new power plants producing
72 GW had started since the beginning of this year, while total
capacity under development currently tops 195 GW, according to NDRC
Vice-Minister Zhang Guobao, who spoke at a power conference earlier
this month.
On the demand side, CEC's Wang predicted power consumption
growth for 2007 will slow to 9 per cent from the estimated 13 per
cent this year. "The electricity crunch is expected to be much
alleviated by the end of next year or in 2007, when some places may
see a supply glut," Wang said at a press conference in Beijing at
the beginning of this month.
(China Daily August 27, 2005)