Shanxi restaurant industry proposes to establish energy conservation platform

On October 28, the Shanxi restaurant industry issued a recruitment letter to appeal catering enterprises and energy-saving products to participate in “low-carbon and green” activities, form effective joint ventures with the Shanxi Restaurant Industry Association, exploit the energy-saving potential of catering enterprises, improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

Xue Erwen, head of the activities’ organizing committee, gave an example of a chain-store enterprise. If the chain-store enterprise installs a 10-ton heat-collection solar energy device in its delivery and processing center, and sunlight can be collected by the device for 280 days per year, 28,840 cubic meters of fuel gas or 119,840 kilowatt-hours of electricity worth 143,800 yuan ($23,521) could be saved annually. If the enterprise processes food by using energy-saving cooking devices, it will save 50 to 60 percent of energy compared with traditional stoves that use fuel or traditional liquefied gas ovens. They could also save 15 to 25 percent of energy compared with electrical-heating cooking utensils. If the enterprise uses a combination frying sideboard with automatic temperature regulation and control function, then 20 percent of energy can be saved compared with electrical-heating utensils, assuming 48 devices work four hours at full power per day. This means 250,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity worth 300,000 yuan could be saved annually.

Xue also said that it is not only the duty of an industry, but also the social responsibility of an enterprise, to promote low-carbon and environmentally-friendly new energy and new technology.

Edited by Michael Thai