Geothermal heating warms more Chinese households

CHANGCHUN, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Geothermal heating is this year helping to keep the effects of freezing cold winter air out of the homes of 700 households in Datun Township, northeast China's Jilin Province, thanks to an expansion in the use of this clean energy source.

Since November 2024, more than 1.1 million residents in 11 Chinese provincial-level regions including Tianjin, Shaanxi, Jilin and Shanxi have benefited from geothermal heating projects implemented by China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), the country's largest oil refiner.

Sinopec has turned on over 1,000 heat exchange stations to supply heating covering more than 110 million square meters.

After several rounds of snowfall, the daytime temperature in Jilin has now dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius. Nonetheless, children can play barefoot on warm tiled floors in residential homes in Datun Township courtesy of geothermal heating -- with indoor thermometers confirming room temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius.

Wang Lirong, a 70-year-old woman living in the township, is tending a potted plant in her home, which is thriving despite the freezing winter conditions outside.

"This bougainvillea is a good indicator of the room environment, as it cannot flower if the indoor temperature is not warm enough," she said while pointing to it blooming near a window.

Geothermal projects drill underground to access local subterranean heat, which is brought to the surface to serve as a source of heat for buildings.

Geothermal heating in Datun Township replaces about 3,000 tonnes of coal consumption, which used to be the annual source of winter heating. This energy substitution initiative leads to a reduction of more than 7,000 tonnes in carbon emissions per year, said Dong Hailin, the township chief.

He added that geothermal heating is also much cheaper than heating fueled by coal. Even with the heating period extended by roughly a month, geothermal heating is still expected to save around 1 million yuan (about 138,000 U.S. dollars) for the township -- compared to its previous annual heating bill of approximately 2.6 million yuan.

Geothermal energy is a stable and low-carbon form of renewable energy with large reserves and widespread distribution in China. In Datun, for example, geothermal water used for heating is sourced from 1,300-2,000 meters underground. It is pumped to a heat exchanger to heat the heating water which is carried in pipelines to each household, said Zhang Yong, a local geological engineer.

He added that the geothermal project retrieves the water after its use for heat energy -- thereby conserving underground water resources.