Geysir China operations are focused on investing and expanding geothermal developments in China through Shaanxi Green Energy Geothermal Development Co. Ltd. (SGE), a joint venture between Enex-China and Sinopec Star, which is engaged in the development and operation of geothermal resources for district heating (DH) systems in Shaanxi and Hebei provinces.
XIANYANG GEOTHERMAL DISTRICT HEATING
SGE's first project was the construction and operation of a geothermal district heating system in the city of Xianyang in Shaanxi Province. The geothermal heating system has replaced coal-burning facilities and been installed in new developments that would otherwise have used coal. The first phase of the Xianyang project was completed in 2006. Today, Shaanxi Green Energy operates 7 heat centrals and 11 geothermal wells in Xianyang with an installed peak-load capacity of 100 MWth and a base-load of 70 MWth, providing heating to an area of over 1,200,000 square meters in Xianyang.
SGE's second geothermal DH system located in Xiong County, Baoding city in Hebei province near Beijing commenced operation in November 2009. The Xiong County geothermal DH system heats 300,000 square meters of housing today and is going to reach a million square meters by the end of 2010. The Xiong project is built and operated by the Hebei Branch Office of Shaanxi Green Energy (SGE) and will serve as a foundation for geothermal development in the administrative territory of Xiong County that is to reach up to 3 million square meters by 2012. In total SGE operates 10 geothermal heat centrals and 14 geothermal wells with an installed capacity of 140 MWth.
The operation offsets over 100.000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year equivalent to the emissions from 35.000 cars every year. This means the operation is able to take advantage of carbon credits created through the CDM established under the Kyoto Protocol, which is helping further development. Revenue from the CERs is projected in 2012.
ADDING TO THE 100 MW CAPACITY
The plan for 2010 includes a connection with an additional 300,000 square meters in Xianyang and its surrounding areas, reaching 1.5 million square meters by the end of the year. The objective of the project is to expand the system to serve 3 million square meters by 2012. China has vastly underutilized geothermal resources and much of it is in areas with a long heating season. Although the temperatures are generally too low for economical electricity production, they are ideal for district heating systems.
MANAGEMENT
Heading the operations in China is Jiang Zhu, Managing Director at the Geysir China office in Shanghai who has recently finalized the merger of Geysir and Enex Kina offices in China. The Geysir China team now comprises 5 experts, Icelandic and local Chinese, with strong backgrounds in financial investment, geology and geothermal engineering respectively.
Enex China's owners are Geysir Green Energy (80.5%) and the remaining share is held by Icelandic geothermal company Reykjavík Energy Invest (REI). Together these firms own 49% in SGE, while Sinopec Star, a subsidiary of the Chinese oil giant Sinopec holds 51%.
Shaanxi Green's website