Tongli's water kept clean by green tech

As one of the most idyllic water towns in the country, Tongli, with its history of more than 1,000 years, is turning to clean energy to keep its water clean and air fresh.

The hundreds of street lamps in the town, located in Wujiang district of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, have been equipped with solar or wind energy equipment.

Its villagers, who used to cook by burning straw and coal, now use clean electricity, solar power, geothermal energy and natural gas to reduce the amount of smoke and dust produced.

The changes happened after the town initiated 56 programs to introduce clean energy to build an "energy reform town", which the local government believes will show the locals and tourists how clean energy can save the environment and change people's lives.

Shen Guofang, head of Wujiang district, said that the town's construction as an "energy reform town" has been supported by the new energy department under the National Energy Administration.

"Local residents and government workers have been working together to build a town that uses clean energy," said Shen.

"We hope that tourists visiting our town can appreciate our ecology and learn that clean energy can play an important role in our lives."

To achieve this goal, the local government is establishing an energy reform exhibition center, which will introduce clean energy technologies and their effects.

According to the government of Wujiang district, super-magnetic separation water purification equipment has been adopted by the town to purify its rivers and ponds.

The equipment is able to purify 36,000 metric tons of water in 24 hours.

Most of the impurities, including algae and chemical oxygen demand, will be filtered during operation.

The whole town's water can be changed in four days with the help of the equipment for just 0.07 yuan per ton of water.

China's top universities, including Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiaotong University, have been invited to evaluate the equipment and analyze the town's water.

The town's electricity company has invested 177 million yuan ($26.1 million)in improving clean energy facilities. It also finished 35 programs to improve its grid infrastructure.

Farmers living in the town, who used to play mahjong and poker in their spare time, now can use the internet to communicate with the outside world thanks to the broadband program initiated by the local government.

Many of them also have solar energy photovoltaic equipment installed on the roof of their houses.

They now can shower and wash dishes with hot water produced by the equipment on sunny days.

cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/29/2016 page18)