Full steam ahead toward a cleaner, more efficient China

China Guodian Corp's power plant in Jiangnan, Jilin province. The Ministry of Environmental Protection announced in September last year that starting in January, all Chinese power plants should adopt measures to meet new national standards for nitrogen oxide emissions in two years. [Photo/China Daily]

Cutting-edge technologies can help clean-up country's coal-tarnished environment

Just as pandas are attracted to bamboo, companies and individuals who are experts in coal-based clean technologies are being drawn to China in increasing numbers, by the lure of an industry estimated to be worth $25 billion globally.

That's why William Latta, a former senior executive with Alstom Power, the world leader in conventional power generation equipment, came to the country five years ago.

Latta is the founder of the Beijing-based environmental engineering company LP Amina, which says it has developed technology that can vastly reduce the amount of pollution produced by burning coal.

According to the latest industry figures, about 70 percent of the country's electricity supply comes from thermal power plants, or plants fueled by coal.

Latta's company specializes in delivering complete cleaning solutions for power plants - particularly thermal power plants - while also making them more efficient.

Its key technology is a revolutionary system of getting rid of poisonous nitrous oxide gas. It eliminates the pollutant when coal is burning in a boiler, not only reducing the nitrous oxide produced by up to 65 percent, but also improving efficiency in the boiler's energy output.

Latta said that as China's energy industry continues to burn coal, LP Amina's De-NOx technology is poised to clean up, literally and figuratively, as the government continues to target cleaner and more efficient ways of cutting emissions.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection announced in September last year that starting from January, all Chinese power plants should adopt measures to meet new national standards for nitrogen oxide emissions in two years.

"Coal is the most widely used energy source in the world and every country needs clean-coal technology.

"So when you develop a technology that is better than any others, it's not hard for you to find customers," he said.

Since 2009, when the De-NOx solution won its first client, Yixing-Union Cogeneration, LP Amina has completed 20 projects in China as power plants look for ways to control their gas emissions.

There are only two companies in China, according to Latta, that own such proven in-furnace technology: LP Amina and Yantai Longyuan Power Technology Co, a State-owned enterprise listed on Shenzhen's new growth market, ChiNext.

China has the world's largest number of coal-fired power plants, with more than 1,500 large and 4,500 small units in operation.

According to a study by HAO Capital, the Beijing-based private equity firm and an investor in LP Amina, 99 percent of those have yet to install a solution for their nitrous oxide emissions.