Coal-fired boilers are on their way out of Beijing

Most new units fueled by natural gas; some on city's fringe to be powered by electricity

Beijing has beaten its target this year for replacing coal-fired boilers with those using cleaner natural gas and electricity, just in time for the beginning of the heating season, the Beijing Environmental Bureau said on Thursday.

By the end of last month, the city had installed new boilers that produced 36 percent more output than this year's goal, the bureau said. That is enough to provide heating for approximately 300,000 average residences.