Unit 2 of CHN Energy's Qingyuan Power Plant in south China's Guangdong Province successfully generated electricity with biomass cofiring at a 10% thermal share on August 21. As China's first high-ratio biomass co-firing project on a 1-gigawatt-class generating unit, the achievement fills a domestic technological gap and marks a major breakthrough in the application of next-generation coal-fired power technologies.
Overview of Qingyuan Power Plant
Located in Yingde, Guangdong, Qingyuan Power Plant is the only plant in China equipped with four 1-GW ultra-supercritical units featuring double reheat technology and operated under an integrated management model. Unit 2 uses waste materials such as locally sourced crop straw, forestry residues and wood chips from furniture manufacturing. After being crushed, dried and pulverized, the biomass is fed into the boiler for co-combustion with pulverized coal. Without occupying any additional land, the project has added dedicated biomass pulverizing, storage and pneumatic conveying systems.
The project has established a end-to-end technological system that effectively addresses key industry challenges, including the high cost of biomass cofiring, the risk of spontaneous combustion, and limited capacity in pulverizing and conveying. During the cofiring tests, all key parameters remained within qualified ranges.
In terms of environmental benefits, the project is expected to replace 142,000 metric tons of standard coal annually, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 347,000 metric tons, and provide ecological benefits comparable to planting 1.8 million trees. In terms of social benefits, the project is working with the local government to establish an industrial chain involving farmers, cooperatives, processing enterprises and the power plant. It is expected to create more than 200 jobs and increase local farmers' annual income by approximately 15 million yuan (about 2.23 million USD).
