Northeast China's Jilin Province will open its first power plant using biological materials at the end of the year.
Located in Nongan, one of the major grain production counties in China, the annual output value of the power plant is expected to be RMB220 million. Construction of the Jilin Luneng Nongan Biology Power Plant, a subsidiary of the Shandong Luneng Construction Group, started on April 22.
"With a total investment of RMB509 million and covering 8 hectares, the plant will convert 300,000 tons of stalks into 300 million kilowatts of electric power annually," said Wang Lingfang, chairman of the board of Shandong Luneng Construction Group.
Statistics show China produces 350 million tons of vegetable stalks every year, 24% of which is used as livestock feed, 15% as fertilizers, 40% as fuel, and 18.7% is discarded. The country has abundant biological resources, and together with its stalks production, it exceeds 720 million tons, of which 604 million tons can be used as energy.
"Compared with coal, stalks have a low carbon and sulfur content. To promote this type of power throughout the country will not only improve the quality of the environment, but also effectively solve the shortage of coal which many enterprises face," said Sun Li, director of the Energy Research Institute of Shandong Academy of Sciences.
