China Energy Investment Corp's Qingyuan power plant in Guangdong has successfully achieved 10% energy-ratio biomass co-firing on its No.2 unit, marking the first time a million-kilowatt double-reheat unit in China has reached high-proportion biomass co-firing for power generation.

The Qingyuan plant is the country's only large-scale clean and efficient power station operating four million-kilowatt double-reheat units under integrated management. The project was selected as a pilot for new power system construction capability by the National Energy Administration.

The advanced independent biomass combustion technology developed by Longyuan Technology enables co-firing of straw and furniture offcuts at a heat ratio of 10%.

During the co-firing process, the mixed combustion of biomass fuel and coal remained stable, with key operating parameters including furnace temperature, flue gas emissions and unit load all within acceptable ranges.

Fan Qingwei, deputy director of the equipment management department at the Qingyuan plant, said biomass co-firing can replace 142,000 tonnes of standard coal annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 347,000 tonnes, equivalent to the ecological benefit of planting 1.8 million trees.

Under China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, the thermal power industry continues to deepen transformation and upgrading, achieving systematic breakthroughs in clean and low-carbon operations and efficient regulation.

Biomass co-firing, green ammonia co-firing and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) are the three core low-carbon retrofit routes for thermal power, with biomass co-firing being the most mature and most widely applied.

More than 100 biomass co-firing projects are currently in operation or under planning, covering direct co-firing and gasification coupling approaches.

Data from the China Electricity Council shows that as of end-2025, national biomass power generation installed capacity reached 47.43 GW, accounting for 1.2% of total installed capacity, while biomass power generation totaled approximately 225 TWh, representing 2.1% of total power output.

China has built the world's largest clean coal power system, with continuous optimization of ultra-low emission levels and unit operating efficiency.

Under the national plan, coal power low-carbon generation technology routes are expected to mature and expand by 2027, with retrofit projects targeting a roughly 50% reduction in carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour compared with 2023 levels for similar units, approaching the emission levels of natural gas power units.