Projects boost province's sustainable development

Shanxi secured 71 projects, with combined investment totaling 88.53 billion yuan ($12.83 billion), at the 2022 Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum held from Sept 1-3 in the provincial capital of Taiyuan.

The deals were inked at an agreement-signing ceremony on Sept 2. Of these projects, the event's organizers said, there are 14 large ones each with funding between 1 billion yuan and 5 billion yuan and five super-sized ones each with investment of more than 5 billion yuan.

The projects are centered around the energy industry, ranging from smart energy exploration, new energy resources, energy equipment and environmental protection to the efficient utilization of resources.

Local officials said these projects will inject new vigor into Shanxi's low-carbon development.

Gao Ruyun, chairman of Luneng Hequ Power Generation based in the Shanxi county of Hequ, was present at the ceremony for a project which is to be launched in Wuzhai, another county in Shanxi province.

Luneng Hequ's offering will be a pumped storage hydropower station in Wuzhai.

A pumped storage hydropower station is a special type of energy storage facility. It is a system functioning like a giant battery as it can store power and then release it when needed.

"The aim of the project is the efficient use of energy in Wuzhai, and it has won strong support from the local government," Gao said.

Beijing-based Zhongjin Meicheng Ecological Science forged a partnership with Huoer Xinhe Coal Industry based in the Shanxi city of Changzhi. The former agreed to develop a project for Huoer Xinhe into researching refilling depleted mining shafts and enhancing shafts at work.

One of Zhongjin Meicheng's solutions is to use coal refuse to refill shafts.

Jiang He, chairman of Zhongjin Meicheng, said the solution has multiple benefits in both economic and environmental terms.

He said it can effectively solve the problem of solid waste discharge and avoid the risks of geological disasters, while cutting related costs for waste disposal and shaft refilling.

In addition to those who signed agreements on the site, an even greater number of business representatives attending the summit had shown their intention to cooperate in the future.

Li Shufu, chairman of renowned domestic automaker Geely, is one of them.

Geely now operates a new energy vehicle production facility in the city of Jinzhong.

The facility just announced the market launch of its first methanol-fueled heavy truck and fourth-generation methanol fuel-cell hybrid car on June 22.

"Geely is one of the world's automakers owning mature technologies for methanol vehicles and Shanxi is one of the leading methanol-production provinces in China," Li said at the event. "I'm optimistic about the future of the industry in Shanxi and I'm sure we will take our collaborations to new heights and more extensive fields."

Meng Ting contributed to this story.