In order to further standardize and strengthen the construction and management of geothermal energy building heating systems and promote the healthy development of geothermal energy heating, the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has recently formulated and issued the "Notice on Standardizing and Strengthening the Construction and Management of Geothermal Energy Building Heating Systems".

The notice points out that the principles of policy guidance, market dominance, adapting measures to local conditions, diversified technologies, and equal emphasis on resource development and environmental protection should be adhered to. In areas not covered by cogeneration, priority should be given to the development of geothermal energy heating, and the technical methods of multi-energy combined heating should be adopted to develop and utilize geothermal energy. The selection of geothermal energy building heating methods in various regions should be in line with the clean heating plan for urban areas, the development plan and work plan for geothermal energy heating in the local administrative region. By the end of 2021, efforts will be made to add 22 million square meters of geothermal energy heating area in urban areas of the Guanzhong region, accounting for more than 20% of the heating area of new buildings.

According to the notice, new buildings that use geothermal energy for heating should reserve land for supporting facilities such as heating equipment rooms, power sources, water supply, and pipelines, as well as for heat extraction Wells. New residential buildings and public buildings such as offices, teaching facilities, hospitals, and office buildings that meet the conditions should fully promote geothermal energy heating. All regions should formulate annual plans for geothermal energy building heating, and put forward plans such as the annual project construction scale and year-on-year growth rate.

The notice clearly states that construction units of geothermal energy building heating systems should strictly follow relevant laws and regulations to handle the application and construction procedures. The administrative departments of housing and urban-rural development at all levels or the construction project quality supervision institutions entrusted by them are responsible for the supervision and management of the system construction and the project filing. The system construction unit is responsible for organizing the completion acceptance of the heating system. After passing the completion acceptance, it should file the project acceptance materials. All regions should cultivate teams for the geothermal energy building heating industry and support key enterprises to achieve new results in technological and process improvement, core equipment research and development, project quality enhancement, and management level improvement.

The notice requires that the administrative departments of housing and urban-rural development at all levels should promptly formulate the work plans for the next year, and conduct statistical analysis on the progress of geothermal energy building heating system projects, the start and completion times, and the heating area of buildings every quarter. They should also improve the working mechanism, clarify rights and responsibilities, unify standards, standardize the procedures and lists of matters, and propose local implementation measures. And report to the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on a regular basis. The provincial department will, based on the progress of work in cities (districts), market development and other situations, organize and carry out pilot demonstrations of geothermal energy building heating projects, assessment and evaluation of heating systems, technical and management training, etc., to guide and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the geothermal energy building heating industry.