A Beijing environmental protection official vowed on Wednesday that the city will have an effective energy mix for the coming winter heating season.

A worker examines and fixes a gas-powered boiler in a community in Beijing. The capital is making efforts to replace coal-fired boilers for heating to reduce pollution during winter. [Photo/China Daily]

During a visit to a former coal-fired boiler in Chaoyang district, Liu Wei, a deputy director of Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, said the city will replace its use of coal with natural gas for downtown areas in an effort to reduce smog levels in the capital.

"The city is confident that it will reduce the concentration of dust, smoke and the amount of sulfur dioxide in the city as the project proceeds," Liu said.

The burning of coal accounts for 16.7 percent of PM2.5, particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometers that can easily be inhaled into the lungs, in the capital's atmosphere.

The boiler in Chaoyang district is one of 115 coal-fired boilers in the city that is being refitted this year to use natural gas. The boiler will burn 2,407 metric tons of gas per hour and provide heat for more than 200,000 households while covering more than 20 million square meters, according to the bureau.

With an investment of 1.3 billion yuan (more than $213 million), the project aims to reduce coal consumption by 600,000 tons a year, sulfur dioxide by 1,680 tons and smoke and dust by 1,392 tons.