Shanxi Zhenxing Group Company, one of the first private power generation plants in China, has reportedly been punished by China's State Environmental Protection Administration for using unacceptable fossil-fired power units.

China Finance Online reports that SEPA has asked Shanxi Zhenxing to stop its 2×200,000 kilowatt fossil-fired power units immediately and not resume the construction of this project without approval.

A representative from SEPA has told local media that Shanxi Zhenxing started construction of the project in June 2004 without submitting a study about the project's environmental impact. The company also set up a 100kt/a electroanalysis aluminium project in 1999 without undergoing the relevant environmental assessment.

Lying in the southwest of Shanxi Province, Zhenxing Group is a large privately-run enterprise with diversified operations. According to the company's data, it has invested an accumulated RMB6.8 billion and is now able to produce 1.2 million tons of raw coal, 120,000 kilowatt of power and 120,000 tons of electroanalysis aluminium.