20080130 Proposed sites for building incinerators

20080130 超級焚化爐選址 屯門石鼓洲二選一

clipped from premium.mingpao.com 　【明報專訊】面對本港廢物量不斷增長，政府推出終極方案，建議斥資40億元興建一座「超級焚化爐」，處理每日3000公噸廢物，佔整體堆填區接收量的三分一。經初步篩選，進入最後一輪的兩個選址包括屯門曾嘴煤灰湖及大嶼山以南的小島石鼓洲。政府會就兩選址進行工程及環境評估，料最快年半後有結果，2014年落成啟用。 　本港過去亦有採用焚化爐處理廢物，但因環境問題相繼停用。環境局長邱騰華昨「推銷」這項捲土重來的大計時說，近年焚化技術成熟，會遵守最嚴格的排放標準。他指出，本港3個堆填區只有4至8年壽命，即使擴建亦只能延壽10至15年，強調焚化設施「不可或缺」。若焚化爐落實，每年可減少耗用2公頃的堆填區土地。 　事實上，進入最後篩選的兩個選址，雖然還未正式進行環評，但結果已呼之欲出。環保署向立法會提交的文件明確指出，曾嘴選址整體得分最高，因與現有的堆填區和廢物接收設施融合，對生態影響較少，建築時間及成本亦較少。 　屯門曾嘴煤灰湖面積57公頃，焚化爐佔約10公頃，位於煤灰湖中央，毗鄰是政府計劃興建的另一座用以焚燒淨化海港計劃污泥的焚化爐。消息人士指出，選址曾嘴的好處是「（土地）有排用」，又指該處以短期租約批予中電，只須一年通知便可收回。至於石鼓洲僅得方便海路運輸的優點，最大缺點是須要填海。 　浸大生物系教授黃煥忠表示，自90年代中，焚化爐技術已趨穩定，排放量遠低於國際排放標準。焚化爐會釋出致癌的二噁英，亦有重金屬水銀，但含量較汽車排放更低。地球之友批評，政府沒有做好源頭減廢，即使有焚化爐，廢物量仍會增加，只會重蹈新加坡減廢不力而要擴充焚化設施的覆轍，並非「一『爐』永逸」良策。

20080124 China's deserts shrinks, erosion risk lingers

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn China's desertification acreage had shrunk by 37,900 square kilometers from 2000 to 2004 about 20 percent of desertification areas in the country had so far been improved China had a desertification acreage of 2.6 million square kilometers with 400 million people affected the government had made great efforts to convert the deserts into forestry and pasture and fund other projects to restore healthy forest ecosystems. The 10-year project aimed to help conserve wetlands, restore grassland, control rats and pests, prevent land desertification, plant trees, resettle residents, offer safe drinking water to rural people, renovate riverways, Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu on Tuesday called on countries to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to faithfully fulfil their pledges to continue their fight against desertification. Farmers plant grass to stabilise sand dunes at the edge of the Mu Us Desert in Lingwu, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

20080112 China imports record 163m tons of crude oil last year

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn China's crude oil imports rose 12.4 percent in 2007 over the previous year to a new record of 163.17 million tonnes, according to customs figure. Crude oil imports for 2006 was 138.8 million tonnes, representing an increase of 16.9 percent from the previous year. "China would need to increase oil imports year by year, as its own crude oil output growth failed to outpace consumption demand in recent years," said Niu Li, an analyst with the State Information Center, a government think tank. oil consumption increased by about six percent annually.

20080114 Guangdong seeks help in cutting energy use

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn South China's Guangdong Province, one of the country's biggest energy consumers, is seeking help from foreign governments and organizations to curb its appetite for resources Guangdong lacks sources of energy and other natural resources and so must invest more in energy-saving technology if it is to continue its rapid economic growth, Xie said. governments of the US, UK and Switzerland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as the Asian Development Bank and some private companies were interested in cooperating with Guangdong to develop energy-saving projects. Guangdong signed an agreement with the Swiss engineering firm ABB to help local companies become more efficient. ABB will also help analyze and audit local companies' energy-use. Guangdong purchased more than 50.7 million tons of coal from around the world in the first five months, up 9.9 percent Guangdong used 154 billion kWh in the first six months this year, up 13.4 percent from the same period last year,

20080115 Industry uses more electricity

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn In the first half this year, electricity consumed by the industry in China totaled 1.15 trillion kilowatts-hour, up 17.20 percent year-on-year, and 3.91 percentage points higher than the same period last year, according to statistics from the China Electricity Council, People's Daily reported Electricity consumption in the heavy industry rose 18.84 percent year-on-year Meanwhile, the light industry used 10.39 percent more electricity than a year before In terms of regional electricity consumption, the growth in those provinces in central and western China outpaced the national average level, suggesting rapid economic development there, especially in the heavy industry.

20080115 Southern provinces short of power

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn A shortage in power supply has emerged in China's five southern provinces the shortage was caused by multiple factors: the shutting down of small coal mines and coal-to-power furnaces that led to decrease in coal-to-power capacity, the weather drought in the South that led to lower hydropower capacity and a labor shortage from migrant residents returning to their hometowns for the upcoming Spring Festival holidays. As a result, the five provinces, including Guangdong and Guangxi, are suffering a power capacity decrease of 10.3 million kilowatt-hours from the coal shortage alone. China Southern Power Grid has submitted an emergency report to the central government, Xiao said. This year, power supply is expected to be 6 million kilowatt-hours short of aggregate demand though after the first quarter, when the flood season comes, the problem may alleviate, Xiao said.