Chinese scientists are working on new technologies and breeding oil-rich rapeseed species to fuel its fast-growing economy with bio-fuel.

Experts attending an ongoing international conference on rapeseed say that China, whose annual rape production is 30 percent of the world total, should use farmland to manufacture bio-diesel, an effort that will reduce its dependency on petroleum-based diesel and cut emissions.

Rape is recognized by scientists the world over as one of the best raw materials for bio-diesel.

"The development of the global bio-diesel industry offers China new opportunities," said Wang Shoucong, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture. "The government should foster research work to nurture high-yield rapeseed species, develop new technologies to increase bio-diesel output and expand rape production in south China in the slack season."

China grows 7 million hectares of rape, with an annual output of 13 million to 14 million tons. A new species of rapeseed Chinese scientists bred last year contained a record high 54.72 percent of oil.

But because of backward technologies the country is making only 100,000 tons of bio-diesel a year out of rapeseed, said Prof. Huang Fenghong at the oilseed research institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

As the world`s third largest oil importer after the United States and Japan, China imported a record 36 million tons of refined oil last year, 15.7 percent up on 2005, to fuel its 10.7 percent economic growth.

Experts say biofuels are the fourth most important energy source after coal, oil and natural gas.

Vehicles fueled by bio-diesel do not produce sulphur dioxide and generate less carbon monoxide and other harmful gases.

One of the country`s largest bio-fuel projects has been carried out in the southwestern border province of Yunnan, with 25,000 hectares of oil-rich jatropha curcas trees planted last year to yield bio-diesel for automobiles.

Scientists say the oil content of the seeds of jatropha curcas trees is around 30 percent.

By 2020, China`s will be able to produce 12 million tons of bio-liquid fuel such as fuel ethanol and bio-diesel, replacing some 10 million tons of refined oil products, predicted Han Wenke, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

China will this year invest more in biomass ethanol projects over maize-based ones because of a lack of grain.

"The current maize-ethanol production capacity has far surpassed what the corn output can provide as an important grain resource," Du Ying, vice-minister of National Development and Reform Commission, said.

In Jilin Province in Northeast China, there are more than 50 maize ethanol enterprises, totalling the yearly production capacity of 30 million tons.

"We are still piloting biomass, namely straw, chaff and stalk, ethanol projects in some areas," the official said.

"We also support clean energy projects such as clover-ethanol and straw-methane ones."

Though the minister admitted that technological development in biomass ethanol research was relatively new and less advanced compared with the likes of Brazil and the United States, an official with Ministry of Agriculture said there might be technological breakthroughs in the near future.

"We are researching all kinds of biomass energy options, and others include sorghum ethanol and cole diesel oil projects," Yang Xiongnian, deputy director of science and technology, education and rural environment department of the ministry told China Daily.

"But establishing new maize ethanol projects should be temporarily stopped."

The Ministry of Finance held a special work conference yesterday to discuss funding policies for future biomass energy projects.

Both Du and Yang contributed to discussions between four state ministers and members of the Chinese People`s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Besides being the top advisory body, CPPCC is also the country`s think tank with senior experts from all sectors, such as Ren Yuling, from the State Council.

"With the technologies we have developed so far, China is capable of producing 50 million tons of ethanol a year, equal to a Daqing oilfield in northeastern Heilongjiang Province," Ren said.

Ren`s calculation was based on the consumption of 350 million tons of biomass from the total 1 billion tons produced in China each year.

"We don`t have sufficient stale grain, not to say the amount of maize," Ren said in his proposal for more national investment in biomass pilot projects.

Ren also said the Chinese Academy of Sciences had acquired some world-class advanced technologies, which could produce one ton of ethanol at a cost of 4,500 yuan ($562).

Ethanol is the main biofuel produced in China, with output hitting 1.02 million tons in 2005. Corn accounted for 76 per cent of the raw material. The others were mainly wheat and sorghum.

China plans to produce about 6 million tons of ethanol by 2010 and 15 million tons by 2020 in addition to 5 million tons of biodiesel, according to sources with the ministry.

The State Power Grid Corporation will invest a record 220 billion yuan (28.6 billion U.S. dollars) in fixed assets this year, of which 202.5 billion yuan (26.3 billion U.S. dollars) will be poured into construction, company sources announced on Monday.

Part of the money will be used to start work on a 52,000-km-long, 110-kv-and-above, alternating-current electricity transmission project, with a transformation capacity of 230 million kilo voltage amperes (kva).

This year the corporation will also put into operation 48,000 km of 110-kv-and-above alternating-current electricity transmission lines, with a transformation capacity of 190 million kva, the sources said.

Company officials said technical upgrading would be carried out to ensure grid security and that no major blackout could occur.

Last year, the power grid corporation extended an electricity power supply to an additional 545,000 households, covering 1.88 million people.

China will speed up the development of bioindustry, making it the leading industry of the national economy, according to a conference held by the State Council on Wednesday.

The meeting, attended by Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan and State Councilor Chen Zhili, emphasized the strategic importance of developing bioindustry in areas like health, agriculture, energy and materials.

It also required that China should create better financing environment for high-tech industries, unify the technological standards and improve the protection of intellectual property rights.

In the meantime, the country should also strengthen the protection of biological resources with more effective supervision on related exploitation, according to the meeting.

China now ranks the world`s third largest in terms of the scale of high-tech industries, propelling the country`s economic growth and the industrial restructuring, the meeting said.