A Chinese coal mining firm says it's built the world's largest facility to generate power from methane gas emitted during coal mining.
About 99 per cent of the methane emitted as a byproduct from mining can be used by the facility, which would have a maximum capacity of 30 megawatts, Xinhua news agency reported.
Jia Jian, deputy head of Lu'an Group's Methane Gas Research Institute, was reported as saying that the project would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.4 million tons per year.
The facility in the northern province of Shanxi had been completed and would start operation soon, the firm said.
China's many coal mines produce methane gas emissions equivalent to 200 million tons of carbon dioxide, Xinhua reported.
China has been taking a stronger position in the fight against climate change and environmental pollution over the past year.
In what many saw as a landmark initiative with the United States, China said in November it intended its greenhouse gas emissions to peak by around 2030, the first time it had set such a target.
In addition, punishments for polluters in China were increased at the start of this year as part of strengthened environmental legislation.
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