China’s Hebei province halts coal to gas heating conversion project, report says
Plan said to be delayed until 2020, when new pipelines delivering gas from Russia are expected to go into operation
Authorities in northern China’s Hebei province have halted an ambitious programme to convert large numbers of coal-fired boilers to natural gas, after supply shortages left homes without heat over the winter, business magazine Caixin reported on Monday.
Citing a document issued by the local planning agency, the report said the conversion project would be delayed until 2020, when new pipelines delivering gas from Russia are expected to go into operation.
The move marks a significant U-turn by the provincial government, which had identified the switch from coal to gas or electricity as one of its major priorities as it continues to wage its war on pollution.
Hebei, which surrounds the Chinese capital Beijing, has been on the front line of a campaign to cut smog. The province reduced concentrations of hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 by 7.1 per cent last year, but was still home to six of China’s 10 most polluted cities.
Highly polluting coal made up 86.6 per cent of Hebei’s energy mix in 2015, far higher than the national rate of 63 per cent, and it was under pressure to cut coal production capacity by 40 million tonnes over the 2013-17 period.