File photo shows Wangmu, a villager of Galong, Doilungdeqen County, Lhasa, Tibet using methane gas to cook, Nov. 25, 2007. (Xinhua Photo)More than 43,000 households of farmers and herders in Tibet are using methane gas for cooking and heating to better protect the ecological environment, according to latest statistics released by related departments of the autonomous region.
As a clean new rural energy to replace traditional fuels such as firewood and cow-dung, methane gas is not only eco-friendly but also favorable to the protection of the vegetation on the grassland in the farming and grazing areas in Tibet. Therefore the application of methane gas is becoming more and more popular among Tibetan farmers and herders.
Each rural household is subsidized at least 3,000 yuan RMB by the government to build a methane tank, according to the Program for the Construction of Rural Methane Gas in Tibet during the 11th Five-Year Plan Period (2006-2010). The current number of rural households using methane gas surpasses the targeted 25,000 set forth in the program.
When pilot projects of methane gas construction were first launched in densely populated areas such as Xigaze and Shannan prefectures, they were not well received. However, the local people gradually became to see that this clean energy was helpful not only to save them the trouble of collecting cow-dungs and chopping firewood, but also to make their kitchens cleaner and brighter.
According to the program, Tibet is expected to widely apply methane gas in suitable areas during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period (2011-2015).
Source: Xinhua
http://chinatibet.people.com.cn/6723176.pdf
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