China’s 2005 coal output to exceed 2 billion tons
Pu Hongjiu, vice chairman of the
China Coal Industry Association (CCIA), said on Monday (October 24) that
China's coal output in 2005 is expected to exceed two billion tons.
CCIA predicts that by 2020,
China's annual domestic coal
consumption may exceed 2.5 billion tons. Of that 2.5 billion tons, demand for coal used for generating electricity will probably exceed 1.6 billion tons. In 2004,
China's power plants consumed 980 million tons of coal.
The rapid growth in coal demand reverses the development trend of the coal industry. The coal industry had been unprofitable in the past; however, last year it posted a profit of RMB 41.8 billion ($5.1 billion).
Pu Hongjiu pointed out that while
China's energy development guidelines for the medium and long terms include all-round development of new energy sources, coal will continue to be a mainstay for electricity generation.
SteelOrbis Shanghai