Big in China

Iceland-based geothermal energy company Enex build district heating in China together with Chinese Sinopec Star.

Zoomin in on Xiong. Some of the homes that might one day be heated by Enex and Sinopec Stars new district heating plant. (Photo: Google Maps)

In the north eastern province of Hebei, home of the famous Great Wall, another impressive undertaking is taking place. The Shaanxi Green Energy, a joint venture between Enex and Sinopec Star, is developing their second district heating project in Xiong County. The new system will provide heating for 250 000 square meters this year, and up to 3 million square meters by 2012.

Xiong County, with a population of 354,000, has low-temperature geothermal fields with water temperature ranging from 55-86°C at a well depth of 500-1,500 meters. The new geothermal DH system will help improve the county’s air quality since heating would otherwise come from coal fired heat centrals. By reducing the county's dependence on coal heating and reducing carbon dioxide emissions the operation can generate CER (Carbon Credits) that strengthens the economical viability of the project.

The official signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between SGE and Xiong County took place on October 28th in Xiong County. Iceland’s Ambassador in China, Mr. Gunnar Snorri Gunnarsson, along with officials from Baoding Municipality and Xiong County, Hebei Province and executives from Sinopec Star, Enex China, Reykjavik Energy and Geysir Green Energy took part in the signing ceremony.

Read more about Enex here.