Construction of China's first stalk power plant, with a designed annual generating capacity of 120 million kilowatt-hours, is expected to begin in Jinzhou, a city in north China's Hebei province, before the end of this year.

Costing an estimated 240 to 280 million yuan (33.85 million US dollars), the power project is expected to burn 200,000 tons of stalks and save 160,000 tons of coal annually upon completion 12 months later, Jinzhou's deputy mayor, Zhang Xin, told Xinhua.

Generating equipment for the project will be imported from Denmark, Zhang said.

Hebei Provincial Construction and Investment Company, Beijing Longji Power Co., Ltd. and a Hong Kong power company will be the joint share holders of the project.

Jinzhou's stalk output stands at over 370,000 tons annually, only a small part of which is used as fodder and raw materials for paper making. The city has set up a stalk purchase company to guarantee sufficient supply for the plant.

Local farmers can earn extra income totaling 20 million yuan (2.41 million US dollars) annually by selling stalks to the powr plant, Zhang said.

Source: Xinhua