IN BRIEF (Page 5)

Shanxi mine started

China National Coal Corp, the parent company of China Coal Energy, said it has started work on an open-cut mine in Ningwu, North China's Shanxi province.

The mine contains estimated reserves of 1.85 billion tons, the company said in a statement. The mine has a designed annual capacity of 20 million tons, and is due to come on stream after five years of construction, the firm said. The company will also build a railway as support facility, with delivery capacity of 32.5 million tons per year, it added.

CNOOC oil depot

China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the country's third largest oil producer, has started building an oil depot in South China's Guangdong province, the China News Service reported.

The project, located in Shaoguan, will cost around 80 million yuan with a planed capacity of 40,000 cubic meters, the agency said. The depot is expected to sell 300,000 tons of refined oil and earn over 2 billion yuan of sales revenues after three years.

Power consumption

Chinese electricity consumption in 2008 rose by only 5.23 percent year on year, the lowest annual growth rate since 1998, according to figures provided by the China Electricity Council (CEC).

The growth rate is 9.57 percentage points lower than 2007 levels, the CEC said. Total power consumption stood at nearly 3.43 trillion kilowatt hours over the full year.

Nuclear, wind power

China's nuclear and wind power investment soared in 2008, while investment in coal-fired plants declined year-on-year, said the China Electricity Council on January 5. Nuclear and wind power investment increased by 71.85 and 88.10 percent respectively as compared with the same period of the previous year, while thermal power investment dropped 21.99 percent, according to the council.

China's total power generating capacity reached 792.53 million kW in 2008, up 10.3 percent year-on-year.

Knowledge contest

DuPont China Holding Co Ltd has co-sponsored a national knowledge contest about the Circular Economy Promotion Law that officially took effect on January 1, 2009. DuPont China has been dedicated to boosting the idea of environmental protection and sustainable development in China since its establishment 25 years ago.

The contest, sponsored by the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of National People's Congress and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, was launched on January 6.

New energy magazine

Energy Review, China's first magazine focusing on opinions and comments regarding domestic and international energy issues, was published this month by the Yingda Media Investment Group. The target readers of the monthly publication are primarily energy policy-makers, researchers, investors, energy suppliers and consumers.

Zhou Dadi, former head of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the publication ceremony on January 6 that China lacks a platform for open discussions on energy issues, and this magazine would help to dismiss information asymmetry existing between China's energy policy makers and the ordinary people.

(China Daily 01/12/2009 page5)