Central China province to cut coal consumption by 5 pct

ZHENGZHOU - Central China's Henan province plans to cut its coal consumption by 5 percent in 2019 in a bid to improve its energy mix.

The provincial government aims to further cut local coal consumption by 10 million tonnes this year, the provincial energy saving and pollution reduction office said Wednesday.

It plans to cut the coal consumption for industries other than coal-fired power plants by 15 million tonnes and limit the increase in coal consumption at power plants to within 5 million tonnes.

The provincial government ordered strict approval restrictions on new coal consuming projects and elimination of some outdated coal-powered facilities, the office said.

Meanwhile, high-polluting firms are subject to tougher production halts when alerts are issued for polluted weather.

The provincial government will closely monitor major energy-guzzling companies and 10 cities where annual coal consumption exceeds 5 million tonnes each.

In recent years, China has been encouraging the use of more clean energy to replace polluting coal in an attempt to tackle air pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.