Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 06 2022

AsiaElec COAL AsiaElec

China approves new $1.1bn Liuheng

coal-fired power plant

CHINA THE eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang Sinopec said it had developed its own CCUS
has approved the construction of a new 2-GW technology, which was yielding positive results
coal-fired power plant at a cost of $1.10bn, state- in terms of both boosting oil recovery and
owned Zhejiang Energy Group said on February reducing emissions. According to the statement,
8. Sinopec’s low partial pressure CO2 capture tech-
Zhejiang Energy Group said the Phase 2 nology has been successfully applied at more
project of the Liuheng power plant would con- than 50 facilities across 16 provinces and cities in
sist of two highly efficient “ultra-supercritical” China, capturing over 200,000 tpy of CO2. The
units and would help balance energy supply and company has also implemented 36 CO2 flood-
demand in the province. ing projects to date.
The group said the new project would also Meanwhile, China has outlined details of its
serve Zhejiang’s low-carbon transition by boost- plans to bring carbon emissions to a peak before
ing efficiency, with generation rates at 254 grams 2030 as part of its wider strategy of reaching net
of coal per kWh, much lower than the national zero by 2060.
average of 302.5 grams. Despite Beijing’s plans to boost renewables,
China has been under fire for continuing grids and energy conservation, China alone
to approve new coal plants. The world’s biggest is home to almost 53% of coal capacity under
source of climate-warming greenhouse gases construction and 55% of the pre-construction
(GHGs) will not cut coal use until after 2025, pipeline, recent research by green think-tank
according to a pledge by President Xi Jinping E3G found.
last year. Researchers with the State Grid Corporation
As well as more efficient coal technology, Bei- expect another 150 GW of new coal-fired power
jing is also promoting cleaner technology such as capacity to be built over the 2021-2025 period,
CCUs and hydrogen. bringing the total to 1,230 GW.
China’s Sinopec said on January 29 that it had Around half of 2021’s global growth in
completed construction of the country’s first electricity demand took place in China, where
carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) demand grew by an estimated 10%.
project with a capacity of over 1mn tonnes per
year (tpy).

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 06 09•February•2022