Sichuan province opened its first national level coal reserve base amid heatwave
Sichuan province opened its first national level coal reserve base amid heatwave

Sichuan province opened its first national level coal reserve base amid heatwave

 

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Southwest China’s Sichuan province has opened its first national level coal reserve base, which can supply 6 million tonnes of coal a year, according to state media.

The Gaoxing coal reserve base, located in Guang’an, received the first truckload on Friday amid a heatwave in the province that has caused an ongoing energy shortage, forcing Sichuan to curb industrial power use for more than one week. The project can store 600,000 tons of coal in static mode and its servicing capacity can reach 6 million tonnes a year. 

The project, covering 14.9 hectares of land, is designed to receive coal in slack seasons and supply coal to eight major coal-fired plants located within a radius of 300 kilometers, including those in Chengdu and Chongqing, said state meida.

An official with the Sichuan provincial state assets watchdog said the province is rich in hydro-power and natural gas, but lacks coal and oil and has a coal supply gap of over 30 million tonnes. Together with neighboring Chongqing city, the shortage surpasses 80 million tonnes, the official said, adding that the seasonal shortage is acute and there is an urgent need to tackle the situation.

The project, upon completion, will act like a “reservoir” and is set to further enhance emergency coal supply to power plants in Sichuan and Chongqing, official Xinhua news agency reported quoting a manager with Sichuan Coal Industry Group.