China plans Asia's largest coal-fired power plant
China relies on coal for nearly 70 percent of its energy needs, which have soared recently as the economy has grown at a blistering pace.
By Agence France PresseFri, Dec 30 2011 at 9:45 AM EST
LUST FOR POWER?: Xialiuchong Coal Mine in Hengshan County, in central China's Hunan province, site of a deadly explosion in October 2011. (Photo: ZUMA Press)
China's Shenhua Group will build the largest coal-fired power station in Asia over the next five years, the official Xinhua news agency said this week, as the country struggles to meet its energy needs.
China's biggest coal company and officials in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region signed a deal for the 8-gigawatt thermal plant on Dec. 26, according to Xinhua and the local government's website.
The plant would be built in the southern port city of Beihai to help ease power shortages caused by drought, which has strained power supplies.
China relies on coal for nearly 70 percent of its energy needs, which have soared in recent years as the country's economy grew at a blistering pace.
Power outages and rationing have been imposed in 17 provinces this year, and shortages could worsen if coal supplies are not increased or if the country's North sees particularly harsh winter weather.
Shenhua's plans come days after local governments were ordered to reduce emissions of "major pollutants" by as much as 10 percent by 2015, amid growing public anxiety over bad air.
China is the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter with many of its cities cloaked in a polluted haze.
Shenhua and the Guangxi government will ensure the new plant's eight power generators get a steady supply of coal from company mines in Indonesia and Australia by building four 100,000-tonne deepwater loading docks, Xinhua said.
Beihai city will also build a coal storage facility capable of handling 30 million tonnes a year in the nearby port of Tieshan.
Comments
coal industry
03/02/2012 05:19 AM
Coal Terminals and additional infrastructure are required in the coal supply chain. Coal industry and coal prices show developing economies are more likely to increase their investment into & their use of thermal coal & metallurgical coal in coming years because of its affordability and to meet increasing demands for electricity and steel. www.coalportal.com
Starbuck
01/01/2012 01:40 AM
There has GOT to be a better way. China is simply going to be buried in coal dust.
