More urban buildings in Beijing, including some facilities for the 2008 Olympic Games, are expected to use environment-friendly geothermal energy by 2010, China Daily reported Thursday.

By then, about 20 million square meters of buildings will be using geothermal energy, it quoted Chen Huaiwei, an official with the city's development and reform commission, as saying.

According to Chen, the municipal government will encourage more real estate developers to use clean energy by giving them subsidies or easier access to bank loans.

The green energy technology is also expected to be adopted in some Olympic facilities, the paper quoted Sun Ji, chief engineer of the Ever Source Science & Technology Development Co. Ltd., a major developer of the technology.

Geothermal energy is the heat stored in the earth's crust. In Beijing, most of the energy will come from shallower ground, according to Sun.

The top 100 meters of the earth's surface maintain average temperatures of below 25 degrees Celsius and pumps can get it out and use it to heat or cool.

"Like a cave, this temperature is warmer than the air above it in the winter and cooler in summer," Sun was quoted as saying.

And on top of it, consumption of geothermal energy does not have any impact on the environment.

To date, 3 million square meters of buildings in Beijing have adopted the technology, and its use is expected to replace 112,500 tons of coal or 75 million cubic meters of natural gas in winter alone -- sparing 280,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission and 2,640 tons of sulphur dioxide emission.

China Daily also said a group of companies founded an industry union in Beijing Tuesday to promote the use of geothermal energy.

Source: China Daily