Push for coalbed methane fired up

With its cumulative proven coalbed methane reserves surpassing 1 trillion cubic meters — ranking first in the country — Shanxi province is establishing unconventional natural gas as a strategic provincial priority.

Historically recognized as China's premier coal powerhouse, Shanxi has been orchestrating an ambitious transition toward a diversified, low-carbon energy system during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, balancing national energy supply security with green development, according to a recently released government plan.

Under its newly outlined blueprint, the northern province will continue safeguarding national energy security by securing stable thermal coal supplies, while accelerating the intelligent, eco-friendly transformation of mining operations and upgrading its integrated production, supply, storage and marketing network.

Concurrently, Shanxi is stepping up the exploration and extraction of unconventional natural gas, aiming for an annual output of 30 billion cu m by 2030, with the industrial chain's total output value projected to exceed 100 billion yuan ($14.9 billion).

Commonly known in mining circles as gas, coalbed methane is an unconventional natural gas trapped within coal seams, primarily composed of methane. Boasting a calorific value one to four times higher than standard coal, it burns cleanly with virtually no toxic waste gas or solid residues.

Shanxi is home to exceptionally abundant CBM resources with immense development potential. According to the Shanxi Provincial Coalbed Methane Resource Exploration and Development Plan (2021-25), the province's estimated CBM resources buried at depths of up to 2,000 meters reach approximately 8.31 trillion cu m, accounting for nearly one-third of the national total.

Capitalizing on this profound natural endowment, Shanxi has steadily augmented its technological innovation support and scientific research investment in recent years. The province has coordinated exploration, pipeline network storage and transportation, local consumption, and downstream industrial construction, fundamentally completing the construction of China's largest CBM production base.

In the first half, Shanxi's total CBM output reached 7.89 billion cu m, accounting for approximately 81 percent of the country's total CBM production during the same period.

Yao Qinglin, director of the Department of Natural Resources of Shanxi Province, stated that the province has set up 98 CBM mining titles across a total area of about 24,100 square kilometers. This has established a diversified operational landscape anchored by central State-owned enterprises, supplemented by active participation from foreign energy firms and private players.

On the clean energy front, the province is fundamentally reshaping its power generation mix through synchronized, centralized and distributed development. Shanxi plans to add 100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity over the next five years, anchored by a cluster of large-scale wind and solar bases.

Clean heating coverage from geothermal sources is slated to surpass 100 million square meters by 2030, complemented by an accelerated deployment of integrated green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol projects.

Tang Dengjie, secretary of the Communist Party of China Shanxi Provincial Committee, emphasized at a recently held industry forum that the region's ongoing green pivot does not entail abandoning its traditional industrial foundation.

Instead, Shanxi is leveraging its natural resource endowments to push coal from basic extraction toward high-value, clean and efficient utilization, he said during the forum last week.

By coupling core technological breakthroughs with industrial innovation, and aligning government guidance with market forces, the province aims to reinforce its role as a premier national energy stronghold supporting China's broader clean energy ambitions, Tang said.

To translate its growing green power surplus into industrial competitiveness, Shanxi is pursuing nine energy technology innovation pathways to bridge the "last-mile" gap between laboratory breakthroughs and industrial assembly lines.

The province is fostering high-end manufacturing in photovoltaics, wind turbines, energy storage, and coalbed methane machinery, while steering modern coal chemicals toward sophisticated, low-carbon applications.

Thirteen provincial-level green power parks and multiple pilot zero-carbon industrial parks are being built, supplying affordable, clean electricity to emerging sectors such as advanced semiconductor materials, new-energy metals and battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks.

To ensure grid stability, the province is deploying next-generation coal power upgrades to support source-grid-load-storage coordination within a flexible, intelligent modern power system. Shanxi targets expanding the regulation capacity of provincial virtual power plants to 3 GW by 2030, while systematically developing pumped-storage hydropower and novel energy storage assets.

National energy authorities highlighted Shanxi's progress as an exemplary showcase of China's broader decarbonization drive.

Song Hongkun, deputy head of the National Energy Administration, noted at the forum that nationwide renewable energy capacity has reached 2.48 billion kilowatts, surpassing 60 percent of total installed capacity, with solar power generation historically exceeding coal.

Song praised Shanxi for blazing a trail as the country's first energy revolution pilot zone, highlighting its leadership in smart mine automation, repurposing mining subsidence land for renewable bases and expanding green electricity trading.

To reconcile decarbonization with grid reliability, Song called for the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into energy networks, alongside accelerated rollouts of vehicle-to-grid systems, smart microgrids, and frontier clean technologies.