Last year, industrial output accounted for 57.1 percent of the province's gross domestic product of 2.58 trillion yuan ($365 billion), rising by 14.3 percent year-on-year.

What's worse, a large proportion of Shandong's industries are energy intensive and big polluters.

"Despite our fast economic growth, we have succeeded in sharply cutting energy consumption and major pollutant discharges (according to initial estimates)," Jiang said.

He was referring the province's reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions by 7.12 percent and Chemical Oxygen Demand by 5.04 percent.

Last year, the province closed thermal power plants with a combined generating capacity of 17.1 million kw, steel and iron plants with an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of steel and cement factories with an annual production capacity of 8.7 million tons of cement, Jiang said.

"(Cutting back on such industries) has brought more benefits than damage to our economy, so we have no reason to slow down our efforts in this field," Jiang said.

He said Shandong will focus on developing more renewable power sources, such as solar and wind power, bio-energy and terrestrial heat to reduce its reliance on thermal power.

The governor said work has started on the province's first nuclear power plant in Haiyang County, Yantai. It will have a generation capacity of 7.5 million kw and will be put into operation in 2014.

(China Daily March 17, 2008)