The three-day China (Taiyuan) International Energy Industry Expo, which concluded Saturday, attracted 627 enterprises and government delegations from 18 countries and regions, including GE, ABB, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

They exhibited their technologies, products, and looked for cooperation in the areas of coal and coal-bed methane, power generation and transmission, petroleum and natural gas, together with new energy and renewable sources.

Among them were 17 coal machine manufacturers from Nordrhein-Westfalen of Germany.

Klaus Stockmann, deputy director of the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) Mining Equipment Association, said China had replaced the United States as the second largest export destination of Germany-made mining machinery in 2009 with a value of 233 million euros, only after Russia with 274 million euros.

“We have noticed that China is stepping up consolidation of coal enterprises, which is an opportunity for us,” Klaus Stockman said, adding he expected stronger business in China.

The growing market of China’s coal machinery has also prompted some VDMA members to plan factories in China, as they said exports could no longer meet China’s market demand.

Maschinenfabrik HESE, one of the leading manufacturers of bulk conveying technology, has seen rising sales since its products’ entry into the Chinese market five years ago. Specific figures were not provided.

Ulrich Goddinger, the company’s chief representative in China, said the company would seek a partner in China in a year. Companies in Shanxi and Inner Mongolia would be on the top of the list because they are close to material and sales market, he added.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China Resources (Holding) Ltd., Co. China Power Investment Corporation, and China Datang Corporation signed with the Shanxi provincial government on several key projects during the expo.

The state-owned enterprises will invest more than 450 billion yuan (66.9 billion U.S. dollars) in Shanxi during the next five years — in wind power, electric power, biomass energy, clean utilization of coal, coal-bed methane and coal-to-gas projects, among others.

CNOOC, China’s third largest oil company and biggest offshore energy explorer, plans to develop its inland business. The company will invest up to 100 billion yuan in the next five years in Shanxi mainly in coal gasification.

“The company’s move to develop clean energy inland was in line with the government’s efforts to accelerate economic restructuring and Shanxi needs clean energy for its own restructuring,” CNOOC general manager Fu Chengyu said.

He said China should be more energy efficient. “That’s why CNOOC looks to inland energy development,” he said, adding the company expected to expand its wind power and solar power business.

China has large deposits of coal, which feeds about 70 percent of the country’s total energy needs. However, the massive burning of coal has caused severe pollution, putting great pressure on China to cut fossil fuel emissions.

Last year the government vowed to cut the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40 to 45 percent, compared with the 2005 level.

China also announced earlier, in its 11th Five-year Plan (2006-2010), that it would reduce energy consumption relative to GDP by 20 percent in five years to 2010.

The targets have pushed China to race with developed nations to develop clean use of coal and new energy sources.

According to the government plan, the country would generate at least 15 percent of its energy capacity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020, reducing fossil fuel consumption to 85 percent.

The Ministry of Science and Technology said China has allocated more than 10 billion yuan for the research and development of energy conservation and emissions reduction technologies during the 11th Five-year Plan.

China will invest 5 trillion yuan into renewable energy projects over the next decade under an industry development plan, China Securities Journal reported in early August, citing the State Information Center.

Vice Minister of Science and Technology Li Xueyong said the ministry is planning research work on a development strategy for the next five years and new energy industries will be a focal point. There will also be increased support of technology research and development.

To seek an energy-efficient and environment-friendly path for economic growth was a “pressing” task for the country, Gao Hucheng, Vice Minister of Commerce, said.

The new energy sector in China has developed rapidly due to the government’s push, but China still faces difficulties in making clean technology commercial, said experts.

Xi Wenhua, Director of the UNIDO solar technology center, said China could cooperate with other nations on technology in the areas of renewable energy and new energy to lift the development of such energies to cope with climate change together.

He suggested that China should introduce more top technology to the world to develop renewable energies and new energies, which are in urgent need. Channels for technology imports from developed nations should be expanded, he said.

“There is no land boundary in terms of low-carbon and green technology,” Gao said, expecting more international cooperation in this field.

Source: www.english.cri.cn

In a reversal of energy policy which represents a major victory for the new Department for Energy and Climate Change and green pressure groups, the government will direct the building of four energy “clusters”, generating a total of 2.5GW of electricity, on the east coast of Britain.

Each cluster will have at least one major new coal-fired power station able to collect carbon emissions and transport them out to sea, where they will be buried in redundant oil or gas fields.

The new power stations, the first to be built in over 30 years, are not expected to come onstream until 2015. They will be sited in the Thames Gateway, on the rivers Humber and Tees and in the Firth of Forth in Scotland, with a possible fifth on Merseyside. The government envisages oil and coal companies linking to reduce emissions from coal-powered electricity generation by up to 60% by 2025.

Demanding carbon capture and storage (CCS) on all new coal plants is expected to cost around £1bn for each plant and increase energy bills. Government and energy companies are in talks over how these will be funded but it is expected to come from a levy on all fossil fuel electricity generation in Britain. This could put 2%, or roughly £8 per household a year, on a consumer’s electricity bills by 2020. Other funding alternatives being considered are to pay the energy companies according to how much carbon they store underground.

Earlier today, Ed Miliband said that Britain planned to lead the world in clean coal technology. This is expected to become a global industry in the next 50 years as countries commit to reducing carbon emissions to combat global warming. Coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels but provides at least one-third of the world’s electricity.

“There is a massive gain we can benefit from by being in the front of this revolution. We need to signal a move away from the building of unabated coal-fired power stations because it is right for our country to drive us towards a low-carbon [economy]. The change starts now,” he said.

Environmental groups found themselves in the unusual position of joining the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in hailing a government initiative.

“At last Ed Miliband is demonstrating welcome signs of climate leadership in the face of resistance from Whitehall officials and cabinet colleagues. He is the first minister to throw down the gauntlet to the energy companies and demand they start taking climate change seriously,” said John Sauven, Greenpeace UK’s director.

“This time last year energy issues were being decided by tired ministers in thrall to regressive civil servants. Now we see hints of real climate leadership.”

But he added: “Very significant questions remain unanswered, with environmentalists concerned that emissions from coal could still be undermining Britain’s climate efforts for years to come. For every tonne of carbon captured and buried from new coal plants before the 2020s, the government seems happy to see three tonnes released into the atmosphere. Until there is a cast-iron guarantee that new coal plants won’t be allowed to pump out massive amounts of CO2 from day one, our campaign continues.”

The announcement will have the effect of delaying a decision on the go-ahead for a major new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent for at least another year, but it is not expected to stop major climate change protests over coming months.

Miliband said it was technically not possible to insist on 100% carbon capture and storage immediately. “Some people will say that Britain needs 100% carbon capture and storage from day one, but this is not practical, affordable or right. The technology must be shown to work on a large scale. If it leads to no new coal-fired power stations going ahead it would be a dramatic failure of leadership. 2025 is a practical.”

Environmentalists have run a two-year campaign against new highly polluting coal plants, with attention focusing on E.ON’s plans to build the new plant at Kingsnorth. The German utility submitted plans for a normal “unabated” plant, and came within weeks of being given permission by energy secretary John Hutton.

The announcement follows this week’s budget which pledged £1.4bn towards home energy saving and other climate change reduction initiatives.

source: www.guardian.co.uk