In the words of the vice director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, said Chai Xiaozhong, "The central government has approved a group of electricity-generating projects fuelled by natural gas, not coal, to ensure cleaner and bluer skies in the capital."

The target for this massive overhaul is 2008, before the Beijing Games take place. If everything goes according to schedule, all of Beijing's heating and power generation plants will be natural gas powered, which it is hoped will cut down on the city's air pollution levels.

One of the largest of the gas-fuelled power stations will be sited in the Taiyanggong area, around four to five kilometres north of the Olympics Green site. Chai has confirmed, "[this] electricity generating facility will replace about 40 heating supply stations which currently burn coal."