China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Thursday it had approved a coal mine project worth 3.1 billion yuan ($458 million) in the country’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Reuters reported.
“The annual production capacity of the project is 4 million tons/year, the first phase is 1.2 million tons, the second phase is 2.8 million tons. [sic]”, Reuters quoted the NEA in a July 21 report.
The government agency NEA confirmed in a press release on May 24 that it had approved the coal mining project. NEA reported that the new coal mining site will be built in the banner or administrative unit of Zhunger, located in Ordos City. The management said one of their goals in approving the new Zhungir mining site is to help “provide a stable power supply”.
China’s state-owned power grid is primarily powered by coal. While the public grid has suffered from intermittent faults for years, its inability to supply enough power to China has worsened in recent months amid a national heatwave. China’s state power grid exploded for much of last year, causing blackouts in several provinces that began in the summer of 2021 and continued through the spring of 2022.
China’s State Council premier Li Keqiang called for “utilizing advanced coal capacity, ensuring the security of electricity supply, and is determined to avoid power outages during high peak season – heat.” Energy officials on June 21. Global Times reported.
About a dozen provinces in China’s northern, central and eastern regions recorded high energy consumption in June. The surge in electricity demand coincides with an ongoing heatwave that is putting China’s state power grid to the test. Officially referred to as the China State Grid Corporation (SGCC), the network supplies electricity to more than 1.1 billion people in China and meets demand in 26 municipalities, provinces and regions.
Ordos, the location of the recently announced coal mine in Inner Mongolia, includes one of the 12 major northern China regions. The city is located about 350 miles west of Beijing, China’s national capital, and is considered the “mining hub” of China, according to Bloomberg.
“Last year, Inner Mongolia accounted for about a quarter of the country’s coal production, and thus maintaining production will be critical to avoid a repeat of the energy crisis that hit China last fall,” the report said.
China’s official state press agency, Xinhua, reported in March that Inner Mongolia’s coal production “exceeded 1 billion tons” last year. Inner Mongolia’s 2021 coal production allows the region to “transfer 246.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from the region in 2021, for the first time in 17 consecutive years for China.”
Source: Breitbart
