The government of China's Tibet Autonomous Region plans to build 30,000 household methane pits this year in the hope of helping rural residents get access to clean energy for cooking and heating.

The scheme will benefit 150,000 farmers and herders by improving their living conditions, saving coal and firewood, as well as conserving natural resources, said a spokesman of the regional government. Tibet began the program in 2006, aiming to build methane generating facilities for 250,000 households in 10 years.

The spokesman said a methane stove, connected to a methane pit beneath the family's pig sty via a tube, can save a household 4,000 yuan and 2,500 kg of firewood every year.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2008)