The Shandong Jinneng Coal Gasification Company has received an Energy Star award for its combined heat and power project — the first time the U.S. government has made the award for a project outside of the United States.

The Jinneng CHP system adopts Caterpillar technology and uses coke-oven gas as fuel, transforming waste gas into available energy to be reused in CHP.

Shandong Province is a large energy consumer with the coking industry as one of its mainstays. In 2007, the coke production of the province reached 38 million tons, emitting 15.2 billion cubic meters of coke-oven gas. If 10% of these gasses were treated in the same way as the Jinneng CHP, CO2 emissions would be reduced by 920,000 and coal consumption would be reduced by 380,000 tons.

Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy which aims to help save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Just 40 programs had been awarded Energy Star by the end of 2007 — including awards to Exxon Mobil and Princeton University.