In the control room at Shangdu power plant, which is equipped with an advanced desulphurization process to reduce pollution and a dry cooling system to reduce water use. [Photo / China Daily]

The cost to operate the power plant is actually much lower than similar facilities in the Yangtze River valley, which have to pay a lot of money for coal transportation. Bian said his plant also collects waste residue from burned coal.

The prefecture's development and reform commission plans to build additional factories to process waste residue from other power plants in the coming years, said director Yu.

Officials hope to extract rare minerals, such as germanium, an important semiconductor material with multiple uses ranging from transistors and various other electronic devices, fiber-optic systems and infrared optics to solar cell applications.

Research indicates the prefecture not only has a rich coal reserve but is also rich in 14 minerals, including iron, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, germanium, bismuth, indium, gallium, cadmium and gold.

Ecological concern

To fulfill their ambition, officials in Xilin Gol must deal with the impact of energy development on the ecology and environment. It is a grave challenge for the drought-plagued area to build additional coal-fired power plants, even with better technologies that consume less water.

Open-pit mines are notorious for causing dust and soil erosion, so strict rules have been set for operators, said Bai Jinsheng, deputy head of the prefecture's major project office.

"We must make sure extraction of coal results in the least possible amount of dust," he said. "The companies that operate the mines must also promise to green the area piled with top soil from the mines."

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Other conditions include wind farms and coal-fired and solar power plants being built away from nature reserves, while wind turbines must be placed as far away from herders' houses as possible.

However, Hata in Sonid said he thinks that several wind turbines erected on grassland his family owns are a bit close to home. "The noise from the turbines get louder when wind is stronger," he complained. "The sound is sometimes annoying."

He is especially frustrated when workers come to repair the wind turbines. He added: "They drive on my grassland instead of the beaten tracks."

Chao Ke, an official with Sunid Right banner's development and reform bureau, insisted such complaints are few and that the banner's administration sees to it herders are properly compensated when their grassland or life is impacted.

Above all, the prefecture's ambition also has to square with the interests of the companies that run power grids in other provinces.

However, Yu said he believes the development of a hybrid energy base in Xilin Gol will boost the region's sustainable growth and contribute to the long-term national plan to go green.

It is a win-win for both the prefecture and the nation, he added.