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“Burn-prohibition zones have been established throughout the city, ensuring that small boilers using highly polluting fuels have no place to operate. ”A vigorous campaign aimed at phasing out small boilers is underway across the city, with efforts being made to promote energy-efficient and environmentally friendly boilers in order to make the city healthier. In the third quarter of last year, our city took the first step in phasing out coal-fired boilers, initiating the elimination of small boilers that use highly polluting fuels, thereby boosting efforts to combat air pollution. In less than half a year, our city has phased out and upgraded 671 small boilers, accounting for 14.8% of the total number of boilers in the city. This represents 176.6% of the 380 boilers required by the province, placing us among the leaders in terms of completion rate and showing a strong momentum in this effort. Reporters learned recently from the Municipal Development and Reform Commission that this year, building on the achievements made last year, our city will exert additional pressure on itself to accelerate the phasing out of small boilers that use highly polluting fuels. This effort will contribute to the efforts to combat fog and improve air quality across the city, thereby supporting the city’s ongoing efforts to become a national model for ecological civilization. So, how has our city carried out the process of phasing out small boilers that use highly polluting fuels, and what results have been achieved so far? What goals has our city set for eliminating such boilers in the new year, and what actions will be taken to achieve them? To address these questions, our newspaper’s reporters conducted investigations and interviews with the relevant departments in our city. A plan was formulated, establishing a 4-year phase-out schedule. Surveys show that our city currently has 4,525 boilers (furnaces, melting furnaces, gas generators, tea boilers) that use highly polluting fuels; this figure ranks among the highest in the province. Of these, nearly 3,000 are decentralized coal (oil) boilers with a capacity of less than 10 steam tons per hour. Various small boilers that use coal, oil, and waste as fuel are currently present in some areas of our city, serving as one of the major sources of air pollution. How can this source be addressed? Last March, in accordance with the requirements of the provincial authorities, our city began to develop plans for establishing zones where the use of highly polluting fuels is prohibited, as well as plans for centralized heating. The goal is to create such zones throughout the city and to determine specific deadlines for phasing out small boilers. According to the finalized plan, the municipal level will basically establish no-combustion zones by the end of 2014, while counties and districts will do so by the end of this year. In the no-burning areas, it is prohibited to burn fuels such as raw (loose) coal, washed coal, honeycomb coal, coke, charcoal, coal gangue, coal slurry, coal tar, heavy oil, and residue oil. The burning of various combustible wastes, the direct use of biomass fuels, as well as highly polluting fuels such as diesel, kerosene, and artificial gas with pollutant levels exceeding the specified limits, are also prohibited. No new construction, renovation, or expansion of facilities that use highly polluting fuels is permitted in areas where such fuel use is prohibited. According to the plan, by 2017, in the built-up areas of cities at the county level and above, biomass hot air stoves that use highly polluting fuels will be completely banned, with the exception of central heating boilers whose emissions meet environmental standards. The reporter noted that the first phase of the no-combustion zone at the municipal level forms a closed area bounded by the Yanglu Line (New National Highway 104) – Yangqiu Line – Taihu Road – the coastline along Taihu Lake – Changdou Port – the Shensu-Zhejiang-Anhui Expressway – the expressway connector – New National Highway 318 – and National Highway 104. The use of highly polluting fuels is prohibited as of January 1, 2015. Phase 2 scope: In Huzhou’s urban area and Wuxing District, it refers to the enclosed area formed by the Hangzhou-Ningbo High-Speed Railway, Tiansanmen Road, National Highway 318, Yangqiu Line, Taihu Road, the coastline of Taihu Lake, Changdou Port, the Shensu-Zhejiang-Anhui Expressway, the planned high-speed connection road, the new version of National Highway 318, Dongtiaoxi River, the Shengjiahu Expressway, and Xisai Mountain Road. In Nanxun District, it is the enclosed area formed by Baimitang, Tingtang, the provincial border between Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Xindang Road. The use of highly polluting fuels is prohibited as of January 1, 2016. In line with the establishment of no-firing zones, our city is making vigorous efforts to phase out small boilers, with a plan to shut them down entirely within 4 years. By the end of this year, our city will have shut down a total of 2,471 units of various types of furnaces (boilers, kilns, melting furnaces, gas generators, tea boilers). 1,766 units will be shut down next year, and 288 units in 2017. After 4 years of effort, decentralized coal (oil) boilers with a capacity of less than 10 steam tons per hour have been largely phased out. Comprehensive efforts were made to exceed the targets set by the province. On November 5, 2014, the municipal authorities organized a meeting to advance the phasing out of small boilers that use highly polluting fuels across the city. Participants included the officials in charge of this task from various counties and districts, as well as the responsible leaders from 21 relevant municipal departments and the heads of the relevant offices. The key officials from the development, environmental protection, and quality supervision departments in each county and district, along with those from the municipal level, signed target responsibility agreements, committed to fulfilling these goals, and made statements regarding their efforts; thus, the process of phasing out small boilers was launched on a comprehensive scale. The task of phasing out 380 boilers assigned by the province is divided according to the principle of territorial jurisdiction and the type of boilers, with responsibility shared between the county/district authorities and the municipal functional departments. The target numbers for counties and districts are determined based on the number of boilers they have; the targets for municipal-level departments are determined by the type of boilers in use. The Municipal Economic and Information Commission takes the lead in phasing out small boilers that use coal, fuel oil, and industrial waste for combustion across the city; the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau is responsible for addressing issues related to furnaces, gas generators, and kilns; the Municipal Quality Supervision Bureau investigates illegal small boilers; the Municipal Commerce Bureau focuses on small boilers used by commercial enterprises; the Municipal Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau deals with tea boilers; the Municipal Agriculture Bureau is responsible for boilers used in greenhouses for reptiles and turtles; the Municipal Health Bureau and Education Bureau are in charge of small boilers in the health and education sectors; the Municipal Development and Reform Commission leads the efforts to phase out small boilers throughout the city, as well as other types of boilers. It is reported that as early as September 2014, the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau and the Quality Supervision Bureau, issued the \"Notice on Ceasing to Approve New Boilers That Use Highly Polluting Fuels,\" which stipulated that the approval or installation registration of small boilers that use highly polluting fuels such as coal or oil (with a capacity of less than 20 steam tons per hour) should be halted throughout the city. The installation of the aforementioned unused small boiler is currently in progress; construction and installation must be halted, and it must not be put into use. At the same time, for new projects constructed within no-firing zones that incorporate highly polluting small boilers powered by coal or fuel, the environmental impact assessment will not be approved, and no additional such small boilers shall be installed. Various measures have led to tangible progress in phasing out small boilers that use highly polluting fuels. Statistics show that by the end of December 2014, a total of 671 small boilers in our city had been phased out or upgraded, accounting for 14.8% of the total number of boilers in the city. This represented 176.6% of the 380 boilers required by the province, placing our city among the leaders in terms of completion rate across the province. Among them, Deqing completed 166 units, achieving 166% of the annual target, accounting for 21.3% of the total number of boilers in the county; Changxing completed 132 units, reaching 440% of the annual target, accounting for 20.6% of the county’s total; Anji completed 146 units, meeting 146% of the annual target, accounting for 15.2% of the county’s total; Wuxing completed 68 units, achieving 151% of the annual target, accounting for 12.7% of the region’s total; Nanxun completed 150 units, meeting 153% of the annual target, accounting for 9.9% of the region’s total; Huzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone completed 5 units, achieving 125% of the annual target, accounting for 10.2% of the region’s total; Huzhou Taihu Tourism Resort completed 4 units, reaching 133% of the annual target, accounting for 10.8% of the region’s total.