A signing ceremony for a biomass energy project funded by the 703 scientific research center affiliated with the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation takes place in Harbin, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on May 10. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

A biomass energy project funded by the 703 scientific research center affiliated with the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation was agreed upon at an event in Harbin, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on May 10.

Construction work on a plant is expected to begin in June and finish in December.

The plant will cover an area of 90,000 square meters and include a raw material storage area, a fermentation area, an organic fertilizer production area, a purification production area, and a number of warehouses. It has received a total of 267 million yuan ($38.95 million) in investment.

The biomass energy plant will primarily use crop straw to produce organic fertilizer and natural gas.

The plant is expected to utilize 102,000 tons of crop straw and produce 182,000 tons of organic fertilizer and 20.30 million cubic meters of natural gas per year.

The annual output value of the plant is expected to reach 82.37 million yuan and generate 4.68 million yuan in tax revenue.

The plant is part of Heilongjiang’s strategy to improve the eco-friendliness and efficiency of straw use in the province. Heilongjiang produces one eighth of the straw produced in China every year.