One of the leading mining regions in China, Inner Mongolia aims to contain incremental growth in energy consumption to about 1.9pc in 2021. According to draft rules issued by the regional state planner, there will be a ban on new steel and coal projects in the region to reduce the power consumption which is at 5mn mt of standard coal or equivalent in 2021.
More reforms to cut energy intensity, or the amount of energy consumed per unit of economic growth, by 3pc from 2020 levels are in the offing.
All obsolete facilities having outdated technology in the steel, ferroalloy, coke, graphite electrode, and coal-fired power sectors are slated to close by the end of 2022. The province will also ban unnecessary expansions that consume excess power. The cheaper availability of electricity makes Inner Mongolia an attractive mining spot neighboring Sichuan and Xinjiang.
According to the draft released on the Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission’s website, it was the only province that failed to control energy consumption in 2019.
Shift to renewable alternatives
The state government plans to increase the share of renewable energy to meet the presidential pledge to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
According to official data, in 2016-2019, energy intensity in inner Mongolia rose by 9.5pc while overall energy consumption grew by 65.62mn mt. Many local states are struggling to cut the energy intensity set for 2016-2020.
There would be 100 gigawatts of renewable generation capacity by 2025 in the region as per the drafted plan.