Houma Gas-fired District Heating Project

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The city of Houma, with a total population of around 300,000, is located in Shanxi Province in northern China. Due to its geographical location, the region has long winters with temperatures as low as -20°C, which require a heating period of 102 days per year. Against this background, the heat supply for the city and the surrounding villages is to be understood as a vital social good. The project measures will connect around 27,000 households to a modern district heating supply for the first time. Until now, these households have used coal-fired small furnaces or boilers, which contribute to high levels of air pollution in winter due to the inefficient, filterless combustion of coal. By connecting the households to the district heating network, around 21,000 boilers can be switched off, saving up to 240,000 t of CO2 per year. The project is therefore in line with the above-mentioned BMZ funding strategy of increasingly financing environmental and climate protection projects in the People's Republic of China through FC funding loans. In addition, the project fits in very well with the People's Republic of China's national climate strategy, which defines the reduction of coal consumption as a goal. To this end, the People's Republic of China government plans, among other things, to achieve significant resource and emission savings through consistent efficiency improvements in energy supply (e.g. through the use of district heating systems) and by replacing coal with gas as an energy source.