Coal Plants Get a Makeover
China upgrades coal-fired power generating units to reduce carbon emissions
Coal-fired power plants in China are attempting to shed their reputation as major polluters. A heating supply project undertaken by the Lingwu Coal-fired Power Plant was able to replace 465 small boilers dispersed across Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, thanks to improved technology. As a result, the city’s air quality has greatly improved. It’s one of the coal-fired power plants in China going through pollution-reduction renovation.
Reduction in the use of coal, heating system upgrade and flexible power generation of coal power plants are all part of China’s efforts of upgrading its coal-fired power plants. The country aims to upgrade coal-fired power plants with installed capacity of about 220 million kw this year in order to promote clean and low-carbon growth. According to the National Energy Administration (NEA), this will increase investment of nearly 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion), save more than 10 million tons of coal, and encourage the consumption and utilization capacity of new energy by more than 30 million kw.
Ecological transition
Coal is China’s main source of energy, and plays an important role in maintaining the country’s long-term energy and power security, said Yu Bing, Vice Director of the NEA, at a symposium on the subject on April 24.
According to Lin Boqiang, Researcher at the Tan Kah Kee Innovation Laboratory and Dean of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, China accounts for half of the world’s coal-based electricity generation and its coal-fired power plants are among the world’s most efficient. Some coal-fired power plants have only been in use for around 10 years and are still in good operation conditions, which should not be decommissioned, but should be used in a more scientific way. “What we need to do is to upgrade the existing coal-fired