China Natural Gas Power Summit 2005 to Be Held in Dec.
China Natural Gas Power Summit 2005 to be held in Dec.
BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) — The China Natural Gas Power Summit 2005 will be held here in mid-December, aiming to give impetus to natural gas power development in China, said sources with the forum organizer on Tuesday.
Experts and professionals from related state energy institutions and major state oil and gas enterprises of China will discuss such topics as China’s macro economy and energy industry, China’s natural gas market outlook, and China’s natural gas power policy frame during the summit from Dec. 14 to 15.
With the soaring energy demand of the country in recent years, there is a rapidly growing interest in the potential use of natural gas, including pipeline natural gas, liquid natural gas (LNG) and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), for power generation in China.
Natural gas-fired power stations have many advantages, the most significant one is that gas is cleaner than coal, said Zhou Chengdang, president of Beijing oil-online and an organizer of the summit.
Estimates show that by 2020, China will boast an installed generation capacity of 900 million kilowatts. That would involve an increase of 1.2 billion tons of coal in power generation, creating unsustainable pressure on resources, transportation and the environment.
By using less water and taking up less space, gas fired-power plants are more flexible when choosing a location and making smaller demands on natural resources, said Zhou.
The use of natural gas to generate power could help remedy the unreasonable distribution and structure of electrical power and is favorable for adjusting the power supply structure, as well as realizing the goal of multiple energy sources, he said.
However, despite the advantages, an argument exists over whether to encourage the development of natural gas power in China, said Zhou.
The major problems involve inadequate source of natural gas and unclear future market situation and pricing on natural gas, he said.