As home to one of China's major agricultural bases, Shanxi province has vast potential to utilize natural resources and waste. Located in Shouyang county, Shanxi Xinshitai Green Energy Co. Ltd. set up a biomass electricity generation project in 2011, to make use of local agricultural waste while at the same time producing electricity from renewable resources.
This new energy project uses an air-condensing turbo-generator set, supporting two circulating fluidized bed boilers that each burn agricultural waste at the rate of 75 tons per hour. There are three such bio-waste plants in Jinzhong city sponsored by the local government.
The power plants not only offer a renewable fuel source produced from locally derived waste products, but also give farmers an alternative to burning excess leaves and bio-waste, which causes considerable air pollution.
Furthermore, farmers receive payments for delivery of bio-waste, including 200 yuan per ton of trees and bushes, and 1.5 yuan per bag of straw. With the help of new perforating machines paid for and lent out by the company, farmers can collect up to 2,000 bags of straw per day in the autumn season.
However, the full development strategy is still taking shape and is expected to require government support to further urge farmers to classify waste – something most of them are not used to, according to CEO Wan Yulin.
The company states that the new clean technology employed by the generators can trap 99.9 percent of small-particle emissions from the 200,000 tons of agricultural waste processed each year, and can save the equivalent use of 100,000 tons of coal.
In line with national industrial policies, the plant's operation is conducive to the development of new energy and the comprehensive use of resources, protecting the environment as well as alleviating poverty.
Shanxi Xinshitai Green Energy Co. Ltd. said that they plan to set up a group company in the Jinzhong development zone and become a listed company as soon as possible to better serve the joint interests of the group, the local farmers and the government.
The bio-waste plant currently provides 160 jobs and approximately 60 million yuan (about US$8.96 million) in income to farmers and the surrounding area, according to local government figures.