New plans to reduce pollution on the way
12/8/2004 10:40
The environmental protection authority will introduce a series of energy
saving measures so as to contain the discharge of sulfur compound which is a
major air pollutant and cause of acid rain. "Our initiatives will take effect
at the end of next year," said Wang Jue, deputy director of the pollution
control division, the Shanghai Environment Protection Bureau. Power plants
which use coal as a primary fuel produce half of the total sulfur compound
pollutant. Other sources include motor vehicle emissions and gas used for
residential purposes. Although coal is still the main source of local
industrial and residential energy, it will be gradually replaced by other energy
sources such as natural gas and electricity. Coal currently accounts for 60
percent of total energy consumption. According to Wang, 30,000 families in
Puxi will start to use natural gas instead of coal by the end of next year.
More than 200 kilometers of railway will be completed next year while motor
vehicles on the road are going to face stricter controls. Mopeds will not be
allowed on the Outer Ring area from next year. Seventeen local power plants
using coal, all installed with desulphurization equipment, will be supplemented
with wind and methane generators, officials said. A wind-driving generator
with the capacity of about 30,000 kilowatt-hours will start to operate next year
in the coastal area of Nanhui District. Zhao Penggao, director of
Environmental Protection Industry Division, National Development and Reform
Commission, revealed that sulfur compound pollution in China hasn't been well
managed and more than a third of the country is affected by acid rain. About
500 million yuan (US$60.2 million) will be spent renovating old power plants in
China to include desulphurization equipment next year.
Yan Wenfang
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