A factory with glass walls and a glass roof in the city of Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, has generated more than 11 million kilowatt-hours of electricity within a year.
"It can meet 40 percent of the factory's electricity demand, greatly cutting energy consumption," said Tao Ligang, executive vice president of the Bengbu Glass Industry Design and Research Institute of the China National Building Material Group Co. Ltd.
It is estimated that the thin-film photovoltaic building, with a construction area of 120,000 square meters and a total installed capacity of 10 megawatts, will save 117,000 tonnes of coal and reduce 265,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions during its 25-year operating period, according to Tao.
China is taking positive actions to fulfill its commitment made last year to achieve the peaking of carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
According to a government work report submitted to the national legislature for deliberation in early March, China will draw up an action plan to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and improve its industrial structure and energy mix.
At a meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs on Monday, Chinese leader called for incorporating the peaking of carbon emissions and carbon neutrality into the overall layout of the construction of an ecological civilization.
Guided by the country's clear goals, more and more local governments and enterprises have begun to set their carbon reduction schedules.
Shanghai has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2025, five years earlier than the national target. China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited (China Baowu), the world's largest steel conglomerate, in January announced its aim to have carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2023, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent before 2035, and achieve carbon neutrality before 2050.
In addition to Shanghai, provinces and cities such as Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hainan have included a carbon peak in their 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and drawn concrete road maps.
East China's Anhui Province has also proposed in its 14th Five-Year Plan to promote green and low-carbon development by promoting green financing and green industries, and increasing the proportion of non-fossil resources in the main fields.
Located in Anhui, China Baowu subsidiary Magang (Group) Holding Company Limited (Magang Group) last year invested more than 3 billion yuan (462 million U.S. dollars) in environmental protection projects, and completed 11 technical energy conservation projects, including waste-heat recovery and photovoltaic power generation.
"In 2020, the group reduced its comprehensive energy consumption per tonne of steel by 7.56 kg of standard coal compared with 2019," said Luo Wulong, head of the Magang Group's energy and environmental protection department.
China's confidence in meeting its targets is based on its excellent record of reducing carbon emissions.
The shift toward clean and low-carbon energy consumption is accelerating in the country, according to a white paper titled "Energy in China's New Era," issued in December 2020 by China's State Council Information Office.
The green development of the energy sector has played an important role in reducing carbon emissions. By 2019, carbon emission intensity in China had decreased by 48.1 percent compared with 2005.
Policymakers in Bengbu, formerly known as an industrial city, have focused the city's future development on green industries. As of March 1, Bengbu has limited the use of plastic products to further promote biodegradable materials.
With the rapid development of the glass industry, Bengbu also plans to build itself into a demonstration city for photoelectric architecture in China. The electricity-generating glass will not only be used in enterprise factories, but will also be applied in local public buildings such as sports and cultural centers.
At an online forum for international cooperation on ecological environmental protection in the trans-Himalayas region last month, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that China is taking green development as an opportunity for developing countries to "surpass" developed countries, which deserves to be promoted around the world.
Editor: Leon
