Hebei province has set a target of saving energy equal to 12 million tons of standard coal, according to the province's newly-released 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015).

If the target is met by the end of 2015, a total of 30 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will have been eliminated.

New energy such as solar and wind power but excluding hydropower, should account for 5 percent of the entire energy mix of the province, according to the plan.

However, new energy provided less than 2 percent of all the energy consumed in Hebei province in 2009. The percentage was estimated to hit 2.4 percent this year.

China has promised to make non-fossil-fuel energy account for 15 percent of the whole energy mix by 2020.

By Song Jingli