By the end of 2006, the total number of families that use biogas
reached 21.75 million, with a total annual biogas production of
about 8.5 billion cubic meters, an agricultural official revealed
today at an international conference on rural energy development in
China.
"The Chinese government attaches great importance to rural
energy development, encourages the development of biogas
construction, promotes the use of renewable energy such as like
wind power, solar energy and biomass energy," Kou Jianping,
director of the Energy and Zoology Division inside the Ministry of
Agriculture, said at the International Conference of Rural Energy
Development in China, a forum jointly organized by the UNDP and the
Office of the State Council Energy Leading Group.
China has rich biomass energy resources. By the end of 2006,
China had built biogas pits for 21.75 million households in rural
areas, and provided more than 5,200 large and mid-sized biogas
projects based around livestock and poultry farms. A
typical?eight cubic meters biogas pit is able to provide 80
percent of the necessary cooking energy for a four-member family.
This kind of resource will, in total, save about 13.3 million tons
of standard coal?for China annually, Kou added.
According to a research report on rural energy consumption,
released at the conference, the use of biogas has quickly increased
in suburban areas of developed municipalities and provinces like
Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Jiangsu. In contrast people living
in rural areas in Jilin, Shanxi, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces still
rely on crop residues and wood to provide energy for cooking and
heating.
"The increasing demand for rural energy and the challenge to
cope with climate change have brought issues of sustainable energy
development to the top of the national policy agenda in China,"
said Subinay Nandy, UNDP Country Director in China.
"The UNDP is committed to assist the government in integrating
sustainable energy solutions into rural planning via technology
transfers and policy recommendations," Nandy added.
According to China's energy goals, by 2020, about 300 million
rural people will use biogas as their main fuel, while China will
use 10 million tons of bio-ethanol and two million tons of
bio-diesel to replace the current 10 million tons of annual oil
consumption.
Energy specialists from developing countries including Bolivia,
Brazil, India, South Africa, and Thailand attended the conference
and exchanged information, ideas, and visions toward fostering
rural energy security throughout the developing world.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Zhang Yunxing, November 23,
2007)
