China Resources (Holdings) Co (CRC), a State-owned Fortune 500 company in the energy sector, plans to invest 12 billion yuan ($1.09 billion) to establish 200 biogas projects in Harbin, capital city of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, according to information from Harbin Agriculture Committee.

The projects will make full use of straw by turning it into fertilizer and biogas; and biogas will eventually be converted into electricity by biogas-fired power plants.

Harbin is a place with a suitable climate and rich land resources for planting corn. Large amounts of straw have previously been burned due to the shortage of centralized treatment stations which cause heavy air pollution. By making use of straw, air pollution can be reduced while bringing economic benefits to local farmers when the biogas projects begin.

The first biogas station will be built in Yilan county this year, by a Harbin-registered company controlled by China Resources (Holdings) Co.