China Plans to Shut Down 50 Gigawatts of Small Thermal Power Plants

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Based on the policies promoting energy saving and emission reduction issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in recent days, China plans to shut down 50 gigawatts (GW) of small thermal power plants in the nation’s 11th five-year plan period, and 10 GW in 2007.

By the end of 2006, China’s total installed capacity reached 622 GW. However, thermal power plants generate 72% of China's total electricity and hydropower plants 25%, while power houses using other energy sources, including nuclear power, only produce about 3%. Among these thermal power plants, there are nearly 100 GW produced from units with a capacity less than 100 megawatts. China now has too many small thermal power plants that over-consume coal and lead to severe pollution.

In order to strengthen pollution control, newly constructed coal power plants must have desulfurization scrubbers erected together with the main generating unit at the same time. For coal power plants currently in operation, 65 GW of units shall be erected with desulfurization scrubbers to form a desulfurization capacity of about 2.2 million tons. Power plants with desulfurization scrubbers out of operation without reason shall be charged an electricity tariff and punishment.

In the meantime, Comments on Quickening Up the Shutdown of Small Thermal Power Units was issued by NDRC yesterday to provide a safeguard mechanism for the shut down of small thermal power units, which mainly include: proposal of electricity compensation plan, trade on sewage emissions and water supply quota and favorable electricity price on power usage.

The state will allow small thermal power units recently commissioned with sound condition and satisfied with related conditions to be reformed into biomass power generation or heat and power supply combined units. For heat and power supply combined unit, it is allowable to “build first, then shutdown” or “reformation first, then shutdown”.

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