Methane heating enters 84,000 Chinese homes

BEIJING -- An investigation has shown that marsh gas has replaced power and coal as the house heating energy of choice for 84,000 Chinese families.

It also proves to be one of the cheapest renewable energy sources in the nation, according to the investigation carried out by the Global Village of Beijing company.

Nearly 1,000 methane projects had been put into operation by late 2,000, of which 700 used poultry excrement and 200 industrial waste, said Zhang Zhengmin, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission.

The projects can yield 410,000 cubic meters of methane gas by utilizing more than 20 million tons of organic waste.

China's potential in bio energy, which can also be harvested from crop stalk, core wood and other organic wastes, is estimated to equal that created by 700 million tons of standard coal.

The demand for crop stalk might double or triple by 2010 and the amount of solid waste used increase 160 percent.

Xinhua English Newswire