Beginning this winter, all the heating centers in suburban Beijing will start to supply clean heating to Beijing residents. 

The clean energy transformation of all 31 suburban heating centers was completed before the onset of this heating season two years ahead of schedule, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

The city kicked off the Clean Air Action Plan in 2013, focusing on eight major pollution reduction projects including fire coal reduction. As the coal-fired heating centers in the suburbs of Beijing are large consumers of coal, causing heavy pollution, the clean energy transformation of the 31 heating centers topped the agenda of the government. In 2014, the government launched the clean energy transformation campaign, involving 31 heating centers in Tongzhou, Shunyi, Daxing, Changping, Fangshan, Mentougou, Huairou, Pinggu, Miyun, and Yanqing.

With oversight and support from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, the 31 coal-fired heating centers completed clean energy transformation and are now capable of supplying clean heating. Each year, they managed to cut their consumption of coal by about 2.1 million metric tons, supplying clean heating to an area of about 100 million square meters and benefiting 1 million households. The work's completion this year marks that the non-coalization target of the plain area set out in Beijing's 13th five-year plan has been realized two years ahead of schedule.

The development and reform departments at the municipal and district level have drawn up a series of measures to advance the clean energy transformation projects, said a person in charge at the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. In the past two years, the government formulated policies to support natural gas transformation for coal-fired boilers in heating centers across the city. For a transformation project, the government promises to grant a subsidy amounting to 30 percent of the original fixed asset investment in the heating facilities. 

At the same time, under the premise of legal compliance, the approval process is further simplified, the efficiency of examination and approval improved, and the progress of examination and approval accelerated. The joint efforts by various departments have ensured the smooth implementation of the transformation projects.

What does it mean to reduce coal consumption by about 2.1 million metric tons per year? As estimated by the person in charge, it is equivalent to reducing emissions of about 410 metric tons of sulfur dioxide, about 2,500 metric tons of nitrogen oxide, and 210 metric tons of dust.

The environmental benefits brought about by clean energy transformation are remarkable. The smooth operation of the clean energy transformation projects in the suburban areas contributed much to the reduction of air pollutants and the improvement of air quality and clean heating quality. "The non-coal-based clean heating has not only changed the way of heating supply, but also brought us closer to the blue sky and white clouds," the person in charge said.

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