Dongying, a city in East China's Shandong province, is actively advancing two provincial geothermal projects in Niuzhuang town and the Wuyue Plaza area, aiming to establish a new model for geothermal utilization.
With abundant and unique geothermal resources, Dongying has confirmed a total of 376 trillion megajoules in medium and deep geothermal energy - equivalent to 12.8 billion tons of standard coal and accounting for about 30 percent of the province's total. Despite its natural geothermal reserves, maximizing their use has been a challenge.
To tackle this, Dongying has partnered with Sinopec Star and Shengli Oilfield to establish Luchen Energy Company, revitalizing existing geothermal wells and enhancing development efforts. So far, 31 geothermal mining rights have been granted, and 226 geothermal wells have be registered, covering an area of 428.31 square kilometers, with an annual extraction volume of 35 million cubic meters.
Dongying is also committed to strengthening its management of geothermal resources by transforming its regulatory framework, enhancing policy support, and improving approval processes. With 32 exploration planning blocks and 67 extraction blocks in place, the city is ensuring comprehensive coverage of geothermal resource exploration and utilization.
Dongying's geothermal heating area currently sits at 14 million square meters, supporting 400,000 square meters for greenhouse planting and aquaculture. This development has replaced 280,000 tons of coal annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 668,000 tons and sulfur dioxide by 4,760 tons, yielding significant environmental benefits.
