Energy Saving News
EIB Lends China Efficient Helping Hand
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending China €134 million to support 4 projects aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions by 830,000 tonnes.
Initiatives to encourage and sponsor energy efficiency improvements are welcomed by the Energy Saving Association (ESA), whose members believe in the undeniable potential of energy savings for the conservation of the environment.
ESA Council Member, Tim Ashmore, thinks that mobilising funds to allow businesses to be energy efficient and save money are what governments should initiate worldwide in order to effectively curb carbon emissions and reduce the severity of climate change.
A €31 million share of the loan will support a new hot-water based district heating system in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, which will reduce heat losses and electricity consumption by nearly 50% and water use by 16%.
A further €29 million of the loan will go towards financing a second project which aims to install a solar-powered, energy efficient street and building project in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province.
Meanwhile, €40 million will go towards ten small-scale hydropower plants, which will be capable of generating 62 MW for the Hubei Province city of Yichang, and €30 million to a chemicals plant in Qiaokou, which plans to use residual heat, waste gas streams and solid residues to produce energy.
The loans are part of the China Climate Change Framework Loan (CCCFL), which since November 2007 has provided €334 million in support for 20 projects. When all the funded schemes are operational, 1.57 million tons of CO2 emissions will be saved annually.
Friday 8th January 2010
