A Beijing gas supplier said on Tuesday that it had completed a
new natural gas pipeline that would supply clean energy to
residents in the capital's suburbs.
The 110-km pipeline, which runs parallel with the city's 6th
ring road from the southern district of Daxing to Changping in the
northwest, will carry 3 billion cubic meters of gas a year,
according to the Beijing Gas Group Co., Ltd.
The expanded gas supply will avoid the use of 2.6 million tons
of coal, cutting emissions, including sulphur dioxide, carbon
monoxide and soot.
The pipeline, which has been under construction since 2005, cost
1.4 billion yuan (about 186 million U.S. dollars).
Beijing has been trying to wean its residents and industries
away from coal in a bid to clear the capital region's air. It
managed to raise the proportion of clean energy in its energy
consumption from 45.4 percent in 2000 to 59.9 percent in 2006.
Since this year's heating season started on Nov. 15., the
capital has advocated using natural gas in community boilers and
offered incentives to residents who replace coal stoves with
electrical heaters.
(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2007)