Hundred chemical enterprises face production restrictions or shutdowns! Yulin introduces the strictest energy consumption control policies in its history

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Recently, the Development and Reform Commission of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, issued a notice titled \"On Ensuring the Achievement of the Energy Consumption Control Targets for 2021,\" requiring that new \"high-energy-consuming and high-emission\" projects constructed between September and December not be put into operation. For such projects that were built and brought online during this year, production must be reduced by 60% based on their output from last month. Other enterprises are required to reduce the operational load of their production lines, cutting production by 50%–60% or even shutting down entirely. Among the 189 key enterprises subject to regulation that were announced, 101 are chemical companies. The introduction of this strictest energy consumption control policy in Yulin’s history will force nearly a hundred local chemical enterprises to reduce production or cease operations. The Notice also sets the energy consumption targets for 189 key energy-consuming enterprises in September; while requiring them to reduce production, it orders power supply agencies to limit electricity supply by 50%, and enterprises without approved energy assessment reports must cease operations immediately ； “Enterprises whose energy efficiency levels do not meet advanced standards or that have not implemented energy-saving measures must suspend operations immediately for rectification; key energy-consuming units that have not established systems for automatic collection and online reporting of energy consumption must also suspend operations for rectification by the end of September. “This most stringent production restriction policy in history made it impossible for enterprises to operate normally. ”The head of the production technology department at a large local chlor-alkali company told reporters that if the production capacity is reduced by half, it will be difficult to control the quality of products such as caustic soda; meanwhile, by-products will increase, leading to higher consumption and costs. The total energy consumption will be almost the same as that during full-capacity production. Furthermore, pollutant emissions and unsafe risk factors have increased significantly; moreover, there is no direct proportional relationship between the electricity consumption of the equipment and the production load, so it is not possible for both to decrease by 50% simultaneously. The technology minister told reporters that the specific consumption of caustic soda and polyvinyl chloride was 357 and 156 kilograms of standard coal per ton respectively, which is far below the industry average. Using calcium carbide slag as raw material to produce cement results in a significant reduction in energy consumption compared to the traditional limestone process. He called for using energy efficiency and energy consumption per unit of output as the basis and criteria for regulating energy use, so as to treat enterprises differently; projects with advanced technology, high product added value, and low energy consumption should not be included in the scope of control. Some industry experts say that in the first half of this year, 9 provinces and regions including Shaanxi failed to meet their targets for dual control of energy consumption. It is understandable to take measures to curb rising energy use, and the most effective and direct way to do this is by having companies reduce their production levels; however, a one-size-fits-all approach that ignores the actual energy consumption levels of these companies is questionable. “As technology continues to evolve, human thinking must not stay stagnant. ”The head of a coal chemical enterprise in Shaanxi told reporters that **the important directives given regarding the development of the coal chemical industry during a recent inspection in Yulin have been highly encouraging to the industry. Yulin cannot abandon the path of coal mining, utilization, and on-site conversion, but the right approach is to pursue high-end, diversified, and low-carbon development, phase out outdated production capacities, and improve the efficiency of coal utilization. The official suggested that **departments should take regional differences into full consideration when implementing the policies on dual control of energy consumption, and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach or ad-hoc regulatory measures, so as to prevent serious impacts on local economic development and social stability. At the same time, there are significant regional differences in the development of the chemical industry; advanced technologies from the petrochemical and fine chemical sectors can be combined with the coal chemical industry in the northwest to expand the downstream industrial chain of coal chemistry and promote low-carbon and sustainable development of this industry.