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The Complete List of Hong Kong’s Energy Sources

The Complete List of Hong Kong’s Energy Sources

| Last Updated: October 2023

If you’ve seen Hong Kong in its full glory, you’ll remember it for its dazzling skyscrapers and vibrant streets. However, have you ever wondered where all the energy of the city is coming from? 

And by energy, we don’t mean the essence of the city’s vitality. We mean the actual energy that puts everything in motion and keeps our computers and appliances powered. 

That’s why we took a deep dive into the city’s energy sources, the dangers of our high energy consumption, and more interesting information that sheds light on our city’s power. 

Where does Hong Kong get its energy from?

Hong Kong gets its energy from a combination of resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, solar, and wind.

Coal 

Hong Kong gets its coal from different countries including Mainland China, Russia, and Indonesia. In fact, for the past few years, almost 82% of the city’s coal has come from Indonesia. 

Oil 

Hong Kong has always gotten most of its oil from its neighboring country, Singapore.

Natural Gas 

Hong Kong’s natural gas is mainly imported from Mainland China’s pipelines. There are also some from LNG or liquefied natural gas from various suppliers worldwide. 

Nuclear

Hong Kong’s nuclear power is from Guangdong province in Mainland China, where numerous nuclear power plants can also be found. 

Hydro

There’s one hydropower plant in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong where the city gets hydro energy. It’s worth noting that the surrounding area (or Hong Kong in general), doesn’t have sufficient rivers with the water flow required for hydropower generation.

Solar 

For the past two decades, Hong Kong has heavily relied on the use of solar power, which is a great and sustainable way to produce energy. 

Wind 

Since 2006, Hong Kong has been sourcing wind energy at the Lamma Winds in Lamma Island. Since it can only provide a small amount of wind power right now, a bigger wind farm project by Hong Kong Electric Company is in the works. 

Who are the suppliers of Hong Kong’s electricity?

The suppliers of Hong Kong’s electricity are The Hongkong Electric Company Limited and CLP Power Hong Kong Limited. 

Does Hong Kong have nuclear power plants?

Hong Kong doesn’t have its own nuclear power plants, which is why it sources nuclear power from China. 

However, it’s worth mentioning that although the city doesn’t have its own nuclear power plant, a local company owns 25% of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant that can be found in Guangdong.

How much energy does Hong Kong consume?

Hong Kong consumes 44.18 billion kWh worth of energy yearly. This is according to World Data. 

What type of energy does Hong Kong use for its electricity? 

The energy types that Hong Kong uses for its electricity are chiefly natural gas and coal. 

How does Hong Kong’s energy consumption negatively affect the environment?

Hong Kong’s energy consumption affects the environment negatively in the following ways: it produces carbon emissions, contributes to air pollution, and poses threats to local biodiversity. 

We explored this further below. 

Carbon Emissions

Hong Kong has a significant carbon footprint because of its reliance on natural gas, coal, and oil. These emissions contribute to climate change and other ecological disruptions.

Air Pollution

As mentioned, Hong Kong relies a lot on coal-fired power plants and fossil fuels, which cause high levels of air pollution. This results in poor air quality that could even cause health problems for the individuals living in Hong Kong. 

Additionally, burning these fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases, which contribute to problems like climate change and global warming. 

Threats to the Local Biodiversity

Because Hong Kong needs significant land space for energy infrastructure, this results in loss of natural habitats, which is a threat to the local biodiversity. 

What does Hong Kong do to mitigate the environmental impact of its energy consumption?

Here are the ways that Hong Kong mitigates the environmental impact of its energy consumption: promoting ways to save energy, reducing carbon footprints, using energy-saving modes of transportation, promoting the operation of cleaner vehicles, and using net-zero electricity generation. 

Promoting Ways to Save Energy

The local government also relies on the help of citizens to be mindful of their energy use by promoting ways to save energy. 

For example, you can see on the government’s website ways to control your energy consumption in your everyday life. This includes when cooking, using the air-conditioning, using water, and more. 

Additionally, they also make sure that all buildings meet the energy efficiency standards since local buildings use 90% of the city’s electric consumption. 

Reducing Carbon Footprint

It’s worth noting that the local government is taking several measures to help with the reduction of carbon footprint. For example, they started Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 in 2021.  

This plan entails several methods to decrease carbon emissions by using energy saving and green buildings, pushing for a greener transportation method, reducing waste, using net-zero electricity generation, and urging the public’s participation. 

They are hopeful that by 2050, people will see a drastic 50% decrease in the city’s carbon emissions. 

Using Energy-Saving Modes of Transportation

To further help mitigate the effect of energy consumption, the local government has been putting a spotlight on new energy vehicles. Additionally, they’ve also been creating multiple facilities to expand the use of green transport. 

In 2011, they started the New Energy Transportation Fund to support innovative transport technologies. In 2020, they stretched the funds to obtain mature technologies. 

Operating Cleaner Vehicles

Operating cleaner vehicles can help lessen the greenhouse gas emissions, which is why the government also urges its citizens to participate in this.  

Using Net-Zero Electricity Generation

Net-zero electricity generation is when the amount of electricity being produced equals the amount of electricity consumed. 

This leads to zero net emissions of dangerous greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, which is much better for the environment. 

Anyway, since electricity generation makes up a significant percentage of the city’s energy consumption, the government has included Net-Zero to the list of strategies for Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050. 

Urging the Public’s Participation

Everyone in Hong Kong uses the city’s energy, which is why the local government also urges the public to participate in methods that lessen energy consumption. 

For starters, they’ve created an app that can evaluate your carbon emissions. To download it, just go to the carbon calculator’s website. 

Additionally, they spread information on how everyone can help with climate change. They try to make it achievable for everyone by providing simple ways like changing one’s routine. 

For example, they suggest turning off appliances when you’re not using them, riding public transportation if you can, using fluorescent lamps or LED lights, and lessening time in the shower. 

What does the local government suggest the public do to lessen their energy consumption in Hong Kong?

The local government suggests that the Hong Kong public lessen energy consumption by participating in low-carbon living, energy-saving, green-office managing, and greener commuting. 

Low-Carbon Living 

There are plenty of ways to apply carbon living in factors like clothing, food, and travel. 

When it comes to clothing, you can exercise carbon living by hand-washing clothes (if you can), donating clothes you don’t need, or opting for clothes that don’t have to be ironed. 

In terms of food, you can purchase only the things you need, eating less meat, and opting for reusable containers. 

Meanwhile, in traveling, you can choose to ride the public transportation, opt for the stairs, and walk when going places that aren’t too far. 

Energy Saving

You can also lessen your energy consumption by saving energy around the house. For example, open the blinds in the morning to avoid using light, buy energy efficient air conditioners, switch to induction cookers, and lessen the times you use hot water. 

Green Office Managing

Lessening your power consumption in the office is just as important and helpful as doing it at home. You can do this in a lot of ways, but even things like increasing others’ awareness of the need to be more conscious of how we consume power and other things can help. 

By the way, here at Happy Hongkonger, we do quarterly workshops and talks to help increase everyone’s environmental awareness. You might want to do it in your office too! 

Greener Commuting

If you can, skip on buying a car. Hong Kong’s transportation is quite efficient. Moreover, you don’t have to pay for the high gas prices! 

If you really need one however, there are still other ways to achieve greener commuting. 

You can always plan ahead to steer clear of traffic congestion. Not only will you save your precious time, but you’ll also save on gas and power! 

Additionally, it’s important to keep your vehicle well maintained. That way, you can avoid excess emission of exhaust, which will help the environment. 

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