BEIJING, July 10  -- China's central authorities on Thursday urged local governments to formulate plans for geothermal energy.

The programs in each province, autonomous region or municipality should be submitted to the National Energy Administration (NEA) and the Ministry of Land and Resources by the end of this year, according to a statement on the NEA's website.

The programs should be based on each locality's geothermal resources and demand for heat and electricity. They should elaborate the goal, key tasks, regional distribution and timetable for development.

China's geothermal energy potential roughly equals 853 billion tonnes of standard coal, and has the potential to replace coal in energy consumption.

Current annual exploration of geothermal energy has reached only about three million tonnes, according to the NEA.

Exploration of geothermal energy will facilitate the restructuring of energy consumption as coal consumption amounts to about 66 percent of China's total energy consumption .

It will also reduce air pollution as one geothermal facility can replace 3,000 tonnes of coal each year, saving over 75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and 30 tonnes of sulfur dioxide.