Large HDR resources discovered in North China

Chinese researchers found large amounts of hot dry rock (HDR) resources in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region equivalent to 22.8 billion tons of coal.

Researchers from the Hebei Provincial Bureau of Coal Geology discovered more than 500 square kilometers of HDR resources 5,000 meters underground in Matouying, Tangshan, Beijing-based newspaper Economic Daily reported.

Energy from the HDR resources equals 22.8 tons of coal. They can be directly used in power generation, heat supplies and planting, the Economic Daily reported citing Zhang Guishuang, deputy director of the Hebei coal geology bureau.

HDR resources refer to heat energy contained in rocks buried between 3 to 10 kilometers underground. It is clean energy with the characteristics of large reserves, zero emissions, safe and a high utilization rate.

Experts estimated that the total amount of energy contained in HDR in the Earth's crust was roughly 30 times contained in petroleum, natural gas and coal. Experts believe that the resource discovered in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is shallow. Developing it will help optimize the energy structure, improve the atmospheric environment, and prevent pollution in the region, the report said.