China will aggressively slash coal consumption in smog-hit capital Beijing and neighboring provinces in a bid to improve air quality and further lower coal’s share in the nation’s energy mix.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> In 2014, Beijing should reduce raw coal use by 3 million tonnes, while Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong should cut coal uses by 2 million, 8 million and 4 million tonnes respectively, totaling 17 million tonnes, according to a meeting on air pollution control recently held by the National Energy Administration (NEA).<br /> <br /> The NEA has set a goal to control coal consumption at 3.8 billion tonnes this year, up only 1.6% year on year, and cap total energy use at 3.88 million tonnes of standard coal, up 3.2% year on year.<br /> <br /> To optimize energy structure, the government aims to reduce the proportion of coal to below 65% in 2014, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous year, while increase that of non-fossil fuels to 32.7% and gas to 6.5%.<br /> <br /> Wu Xinxiong, director of the NEA, said the government will unveil measures concerning the reduction of coal consumption and the supervision over the quality of coal being used.<br /> <br /> China will shut 2 GW of small thermal generating units and eliminate 30 million tonnes of outdated coal capacity, according to the meeting.<br /> <br /> <p> Meanwhile, China would add 20 GW of new hydropower capacity, 18 GW of new wind capacity, 14 GW of solar power and 8.64 GW of nuclear power, Wu said.&nbsp; </p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <img src="/upfiles/news/image/20140306/20140306143147_2375.jpg" alt="" /> </p>