China Approves New Wind-Energy, Hydropower Plants
By Winnie Zhu
March 12 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world’s second-biggest energy user, approved building wind power plants and hydropower stations with a combined capacity of 2,001 megawatts to boost economic growth and trim global-warming emissions.
Power stations are planned in the provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, Jiangsu and Hebei, the National Development and Reform Commission said in separate statements today. These will add to at least $35 billion of energy projects that have been approved or started since November as the government carries out a 4 trillion-yuan ($585 billion) stimulus plan to spur the economy.
The world’s biggest greenhouse-gas producer is expanding in clean energy as 192 nations are holding meetings to forge a new treaty to stem global warming. China released 6.02 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the main gas blamed for climate change, in 2006, according to U.S. Department of Energy data on Bloomberg.
The development commission, the nation’s top economic planner, approved the Luding Hydropower Station in Sichuan province, which will include four units of 230 megawatts each, Dongjing Hydropower plant in Guizhou, with four units of 220 megawatts each, Rudong wind farm in Jiangsu and Guyuan wind power station in Hebei, each with 100.5 megawatts of capacity.
China began building the eastern section of the nation’s second west-east gas pipeline, worth 93 billion yuan ($13 billion), in February. At least four other projects were granted provisional approvals in February, including China Huaneng Group’s 4.2 billion-yuan power plant in Hunan and China National Offshore Oil Corp.’s liquefied natural gas storage facility, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at wzhu4@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 12, 2009 07:23 EDT
