China plans to close small power generation units by 2010,
according to an official with China's National Development and
Reform Commission (NDRC).
The move comes as part of China's drive to remove power units
that consume a lot of energy and produce severe pollution.
China faced a severe shortage in electricity supply in 2002
which resulted in the establishment of many small oil-fired
generators.
By the end of 2004, the combined installed capacity of small
power generating units around the country exceeded 86 gw, including
25 gw oil-fired units.
At a recent press conference held by the NDRC, Zhang Guobao,
vice minister of NDRC, announced that China's total installed
capacity had reached 531 million kilowatts, and more than 70
million kw of newly installed capacity are expected to be put into
production this year.
It is a good opportunity for China to close small coal-fired and
oil-fired units that use excessive energy and produce heavy
pollution as a part of its industrial reshuffling, said Zhang.
According to China's power development project in the 2006-2010
period, China will make redoubled efforts to develop clean energy
projects such as hydropower, nuclear power and replace small
coal-fired or oil-fired power generation units with large,
coal-fired units.
(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2006)