Reuters reported that China is considering moving the last four coal fired power and heating plants out of Beijing's municipal area, replacing them with gas fired stations in an effort to improve air quality in the capital.
Mr Zhang Guobao head of the China's National Energy Administration said that "The existence of a number of coal fired power plants in urban Beijing does not conform with the city's positioning as a metropolis. While the heat supply to Beijing residents must be ensured, coal fired stations that need to be relocated must be relocated, and building gas fired plants with advanced environmental protection technologies is a first choice."
No timeframe was mentioned for the possible move, and it was not clear where the plants would be moved to if such a decision were approved. The four plants, owned by Huaneng Power International, Datang International Power Generation Co Limited, China Shenhua Energy and Beijing Jingneng Thermal Power Co Limited, have a total power generating capacity of about 2.7 gigawatts.
The plan, if it is implemented, would further drive up gas demand in Beijing, which already tops demand rankings among Chinese cities. Beijing consumed more than 5 billion cubic meters of gas in 2008.
Beijing's gas consumption by power plants alone would reach 13 billion cubic meters by 2020 if all coal fired plants switch to gas turbines, far above earlier plans. As a result, construction of gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas facilities and underground storage tanks need to be accelerated.
PetroChina, the dominant gas supplier for Beijing, has two pipelines sending gas from Shaanxi province that combined have shipping capacity of 20 billion cubic meters per year. PetroChina has the ability to meet Beijing's future gas demand from residents, heating and power generators.
Beijing's power consumption rose to a record of more than 14 GW in August, and more than two thirds of the supplies were generated from outside Beijing. Coal fired plants produce about 80% of China's national electricity output.
(Sourced from www.reuters.com)
