The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization plans to ask the owners of 2,500 boilers in the city to switch from using coal to natural gas by the end of 2015 as part of an ongoing effort to boost energy efficiency, a local official said at a press conference Friday.
The commission set a goal to reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), known as energy intensity, by 3 percent year-on-year in 2013, said Rong Zhiqin, the commission's secretary-general.
It also required large industrial enterprises to boost their energy intensity this year by 3.6 percent compared with that of 2012, Rong said. The commission is also working on regulations that would force enterprises to become more energy efficient.
At the press conference, Rong summarized the commission's achievements for saving energy in 2012.
Rong said the city met its energy conservation goals in 2012 by reducing its energy intensity by 6 percent compared with what it was in 2011. The city saved the equivalent of 2.2 million tons of coal by adjusting the industrial structure and improving technologies at 1,016 industrial projects. The commission also encouraged the development of recycling. Rong pointed out that 98 percent of the city's solid industrial waste was recycled last year.
The commission plans to hold several activities to promote energy conservation and efficiency during energy saving promotion week, which lasts from June 15 to June 21.
In one promotion, the commission will encourage residents to clean out their air conditioning units. Dust in a air conditioner can reduce the appliance's efficiency by up to 10 percent. Cleaning 20 million air conditioners in the city could save the energy equivalent of 600,000 tons of coal.
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