Amid the harsh winter of the Yellow River Delta, Xing Yan, a resident of the Yellow River estuary, enjoys the warmth at home, where orchids thrive. This comfort is not provided by a boiler, but by harnessing geothermal energy deep in the Earth.
Xing lives in Niuzhuang Township in Dongying District of the city of Dongying, east China's Shandong Province. Beneath the seemingly ordinary town lies a powerful heat source, featuring water temperatures reaching as high as 85 degrees Celsius.
Upon opening the door of the heating facility in the town, an immediate surge of warmth can be felt, thanks to a huge plate heat exchanger that is in operation at this venue. A heat exchange takes place between hot water of 82 degrees Celsius and cold water, resulting in water with a temperature of about 60 degrees Celsius being sent to the town's heating pipelines.
The geothermal heat from underground is, notably, transformed into clean energy that benefits local residents and supports industries, turning Niuzhuang into a warm, smog-free town. Geothermal heating now covers all 13 urban residential compounds, three rural residential areas and more than 60 institutions in Niuzhuang, totaling 750,000 square meters of heated space.
Read more at Borneo Post
