North China's Shanxi province will soon pilot geothermal energy central heating projects, according to the Shanxi Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

The pilot projects will be established in the Xiaohe Industrial Park and in Science and Technology Innovation City -- in the local Shanxi Transformation and Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone, officials said.

They said the industrial park and the innovation city will apply self-developed patented technologies for the comprehensive utilization of geothermal heat, with international and domestic inputs to help provide clean geothermal centralized heating for the local population.

Compared with traditional heating -- such as coal-fired and gas-fired heating -- geothermal energy heating promises low operating costs, simple maintenance and zero emissions.

Officials said it is of great significance to the air quality improvement and the energy structure optimization, thus an important part of the energy revolution in Shanxi province. 

The Shanxi Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is requiring each city in the province to list the construction of geothermal energy heating projects as an important task for their renewable energy development.

The department wants them to categorize such clean heating as an integral part of urban infrastructure construction -- and for geothermal energy heating projects to be rolled out in a reasonable way, based on each city's own specific situation. 

The cities are advised to give priority to the application of geothermal energy heating technology in areas not covered by cogeneration -- or in suitable public buildings and green buildings -- to increase the proportion of geothermal energy heating in buildings, as well as to accelerate the integration of geothermal energy heating in the urban heating network.

In addition, the department suggests implementing sewage sourced heat pump heating projects near urban sewage plants.