Construction started yesterday on a 5.48-billion-yuan (US$0.8 billion) natural-gas-fired power plant in Shanghai's Lingang New City to meet rising demand for clean energy.

The project consists of four generation units, each with a capacity of 350 megawatts, according to Shenergy Co, its constructor and operator.

The first two units will start operation next year while the next two will be completed before the peak summer consumption period in 2011, said the local power supplier. On completion, the Lingang plant will be the largest gas-fired power plant in Shanghai.

Shanghai aims to reduce the use of fossil fuel, especially coal-fired power generation, as it makes all-out effort to clean up the air, according to Zhou Ya, chief economist of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission.

The Lingang power project is the latest example of that effort. It will become an auxiliary project of the liquefied natural gas receiving terminal at the nearby Yangshan Deep-water Port.

The LNG terminal is jointly invested by Shenergy Group, the parent of listed Shenergy Co, and China National Offshore Oil Corp. The terminal's start-up has been delayed after a blast in February.

(Shanghai Daily June 19, 2009)