Chapter 3
Actions and Achievements in the Major Fields of Sustainable Development
Section 6 Energy Production and Consumption
I. BackgroundII. Actions and Achievements3.34 Coal is a major component of China's energy structure, but the technology for its energy production and utilisation is comparatively backward. The energy industry faces the dual pressure of increasing supply and protecting the environment. The Chinese Government considers it crucial to develop the energy industry, improve the energy utilisation efficiency, and decrease the amount of soot pollution.
3.35 Implementation of both energy conservation and development (with emphasis on energy conservation)
The Chinese Government has made it a priority to carry out the sustainable development of the energy industry through energy conservation, technological progress, and improvement in efficiency. At the beginning of 1996, the government promulgated the "Policy Outline for Energy-Conserving Technology". Combined with technological reform, the industrial departments eliminated, by compulsory devices, a large number of facilities and products with high energy consumption and worked to strengthen overall energy control. This has obviously improved the efficiency. The energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP decreased from 5.3 tons of standard coal in 1990 to 3.94 tons of standard coal in 1995. This means that there was an accumulated saving of 358 million tons of coal. The average yearly energy conservation rate was 5.8%. The accumulated conserved energy by petroleum departments from 1991 to 1995 was equivalent to 8.2 million tons of standard coal. The coal consumed per ton of steel in the steel industry decreased from 1.61 tons in 1990 to 1.44 tons in 1995. The energy consumption for 10 major products in the nonferrous industry decreased from 7.6 tons in 1990 to 6.4 tons of standard coal in 1995.
Table 3-1 Forecast of China's Energy Consumption (from the Energy Institute of the SPC)
Items 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2050
Primary Energy
Consumption (Mtce) 987 1490 1980 2760 3242 3683
Energy Consumption
per capita(tce/year) 0.864 1.148 1.715 1.904 2.176 2.456
CO2 Production
per capita(t-c/year) 0.520 0.639 0.941 1.045 1.193 1.244
GDP Energy
Consumption (kgce/USD) 2.544 1.431 1.170 0.729 0.478 0.225
Note: Monetary units are calculated at 1990 constant prices(1 USD=RMB 4.78 yuan)
Table 3-2 Forecast of China's Primary Energy Production
(from the Energy Institute of the SPC)
Proportion(%) 1995 2010(minimum) 2010(maximum)
Coal 75.5 66.4 69.0
Petroleum 16.7 20.0 17.3
Gas 1.8 5.7 3.7
Hydro- and Nuclear Power 6.0 7.8 9.8
New Energy Resources ---- ---- 0.2
3.36 Adjustment of energy production and consumption structures
In energy structure development, electricity production is taken as the key aim and coal resources as the basis. The proportion of coal transformed into clean power energy has been increased, and the energy utilisation efficiency improved. Transportation of coal has been replaced by the transportation of electricity, and the proportion of clean energy in the energy structure has increased. During the Eighth Five-Year Plan, the installed capacity was increased by 75 million kW. The annual average increase of installed capacity was 9%. The development of thermal plants has been closely combined with environmental protection. Coal-cleaning technology has been developed and de-sulfurising technology has also been introduced and applied. Measures were taken to control the production of high-sulfur coal and in some areas, where possible, to facilitate the exploration and exploitation of coal gas. In restructuring power resources, small-scale condensation thermal power has been limited, hydropower has been greatly promoted, and petroleum and natural gas have been significantly developed. In the production of power, installed capacity of hydropower has increased from 32.7 million kW in 1988 to 55,577,900 kW in 1996 (representing an increase of 1.7 times). The proportion of hydropower in the total energy production had been raised from 4.8% in 1990 to 5.6% in 1996.
3.37 Development of new and renewable energy
Efforts have been made in developing and promoting the application of solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, and biomass energy. By the end of 1996, the total capacity of 225 wind power generating units was nearly 56,500 kW. In some coastal areas, especially in Guangdong Province, the energy consumption structure, which relies primarily on coal, has begun to change. The proportion of petroleum and its by-product has also been raised to a relatively high degree.
Picture 3-10 Utilisation of New Energy
Upper Passive Solar Energy Utilisation - Model Building in the Teacher's College of Gannan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province
Lower Wind Power Station in Shangdu Daishanwan, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
3.38 Development of techniques and facilities for clean combustion of coal
The Chinese Government attaches importance to the development and application of coal-cleaning technology. It limits the direct burning of raw coal and has reached great achievements in the development of de-sulferisation techniques, circle boilers, low NOx combustion technology, and the comprehensive utilisation of the soot from thermal power plants. The government also adopted the policy of encouraging residents and enterprises to use shaped coal. In 1995, shaped coal accounted for 40% of the coal used in urban households and 70% of the civil coal consumption. On the basis of in-depth research and development of industrial shaped coal, experiments have been conducted in some enterprises and the results are being disseminated. Some outdated boilers and combustion facilities have been eliminated by compulsory measures and high-efficiency energy-conserving boilers introduced.
3.39 New progress in rural energy development
Since 1991, comprehensive energy construction projects has been carried out in more than 330 counties across the country. Methane combustion, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, small hydropower, energy-conserving stoves, and designated fuel forests and firewood have been widely applied in rural China. By the end of 1995, a capacity for annually conserving 80 million tons of standard coal had been reached and the serious shortage of energy in rural areas had been more or less eased. The construction of small-scale hydropower plants has been significantly developed in the countryside. From 1992 to 1996, the needs of 50 million rural people, who did not have electricity in the past, were met by the development of small hydropower.
In the more than 300 counties where the electricity supply is mainly dependent on small hydropower, primary electrification has been realised. Among China's 800 mountainous counties which primarily rely on medium- and small-scale hydropower, 318 counties and one region have realised rural primary electrification. More than 40 regional electricity networks have been formed.
Picture 3-11 Domestic and Foreign Experts Inspect a Rural Biomass Energy
Site in Xiaozhuang Village in Yinshang County of Fuyang City of Anhui Province - One of "The Global Best 500"
Since 1992, methane-generating pits have been built for more than 200,000 households. By the end of 1995, 5.7 million rural families were using methane. The yearly production was 1.54 billion cubic metres (equal to 1.35 million tons of standard coal). Over 25 million people had access to good quality methane. Integrated utilisation of methane has also seen
great progress. Seed-soaking in liquid methane has been applied to 1 million
hectares. Good results have also been achieved in the raising of pigs,
fishes, and mushrooms. In northern China, the "energy ecology pattern
in northern rural areas" has been promoted which combines the methane-generating
pit, pig house, toilet, and greenhouse. This has brought an average of
more than RMB 4,000 yuan to each family. |
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