In late 1999, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) embarked on a massive US$183 million program to improve the environment in three highly polluted cities in the nation's leading coal-producing province of Shanxi.
Today, the nearly 7 million residents of Taiyun, Datong, and Yangquan are reaping the benefits of the Shanxi Environment Improvement Project through a cleaner environment and a higher standard of living.
The project, which was funded in part by a US$102 million ADB loan, helped develop production plants and networks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing methane gas and turning the gas into a power source for residents and businesses.
"Previously, we lived in an old house and used honeycomb briquettes to cook, which took at least half an hour," said Zhao Suoxiang, a resident of a Yangquan suburb. "However, since we moved into this new apartment building, we only need ten minutes to cook a meal. We had never used gas before, but now we feel it is really convenient, quite clean, and really quick to cook."
Burning coal is the number one cause of acid rain and greenhouse gases in the PRC. It is the primary fuel for industrial production, power generation, and commercial and residential applications, mainly cooking and heating.
The Shanxi Environment Improvement Project was designed to reduce coal use and bring down energy costs. The 65-year-old retiree, who now uses methane gas, says the project has done just that. His monthly gas bill for his family of five is now around US$3.50, down by one and half times compared with his coal costs. In addition to the improved cooking conditions, the Zhao family now has access to hot water year round for bathing.
The project helped build a coke-oven gas manufacturing plant in Taiyuan to supply town gas and coke and replace coal for industrial, commercial, and residential use. Two boilers and a district heating transmission network were constructed in Datong to supply heat for residential and commercial use. In Yangquan, a system to recover methane gas from an existing coal mine was built to supply methane gas to replace coal. The project also helped develop policies for sustainable environmental management and, in total, reduced coal use by nearly 800,000 tons annually.
The PRC's heavy dependence on coal to meet energy and industry requirements has degraded the environment severely in major cities. The country's rapid economic growth and industrialization since the early 1990s has exacerbated the situation. In Shanxi, a less-developed inland province in central PRC, the situation was more acute. The province produces about a third of the country's coal, and relies on coal as its primary energy source.
When the project was designed in 1999, its capital, Taiyuan, had the worst air quality in the PRC and ranked among the 10 most polluted cities, according to a World Bank study Clear Water, Blue Skies: China's Environment in the New Century. At the time of the project's completion in 2006, Taiyuan was no longer among PRC's 10 most polluted cities based on a report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the PRC, the former State Environmental Protection Administration.
Shanxi's other two cities, Datong and Yangquan, were also among the cities with the worst air quality in the country and in the world. The levels of harmful emissions from heavy industries, as well as household stoves, boilers, and commercial furnaces, that burn coal, were two to three times the national standards. The release of coal-bed methane into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, instead of using it as an energy source, compounded the problem in Yangquan.
Li Lianzhao, former assistant mayor of Yangquan, was in charge of the project, representing the municipal government in the implementation process.
"The coal mine industry is the core for the economy of Yangquan city," Li said. "The area is rich in coal-bed methane gas and the local government is pleased to see the positive impact of this project - economically and environmentally, as well as its social value."
According to Li, the cost of methane gas as an energy source for industrial, commercial, and residential use is lower than coal. Since the implementation of the project, and other environmental improvement projects in Yangquan in recent years, the air quality has improved significantly. The number of days with air quality of Class II, or residential quality, in the PRC national standard increased to more than 280 days in 2007 from only 7 days in 2001. More than 64,000 households replaced burning coal with clean gas for cooking, which has improved their standard of living dramatically.
From a commercial perspective, Lu Shangzhi, chef of Huang Helou Restaurant in Yangquan City, said methane has been more convenient to use and has cut costs.
"It saves a lot for our restaurant," Lu said. "Cooking has become more convenient and the gas control valve makes it easy to adjust the flame. In addition, overall sanitation of the kitchen is better now."
The Pingding Yingyu Porcelain Co. may be one of the largest industrial beneficiaries of the project. The company's 1,500 employees produce 50 million pieces of daily-use porcelain each year that are exported to more than 40 countries. Since 2005, the company has built two production lines with gas-fired kilns, and replaced the coal-burning kilns in its other production lines.
"After renovating the kilns by replacing coal with methane gas, the temperature in the kilns has become quite stable, and that has improved the quality of products," Production Manager Qiao Weiming said. "Temperature control is the key to making porcelains. Now we have a stable gas supply to ensure temperature control."
Qiao said another advantage of using gas is a better working environment.
"Less polluted air has significantly reduced instances of colds and headaches," he said. Li Lianzhao, a citizen of Yangquan and a former local government official, said he is encouraged by the progress made through the ADB-funded project and other environment improvement programs. Despite the city being surrounded by coal mines, he says he expects to see more and more days of blue skies and white clouds, echoing the city's own vision for its cleaner, brighter future.
