Liang Yue & Guo Yaling
As a responsible major power, China proposes the initiative to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and strive to realize carbon neutrality by 2060. “It is a profound systemic reform of economy and society,” said General Secretary Xi Jinping.
During the past half-decade, Xiong’an New Area has fully implemented the major strategic decisions of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”, focusing on “double control” of carbon emissions and intensity as well as providing comprehensive energy service.
According to The Reply of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on the Outline of Hebei Xiong’an New Area, Xiong’an New Area will be established into a green low-carbon city by making strict control on carbon emissions, optimizing the energy structure, establishing green electricity power system and environment-friendly heating system, and promoting the utilization of local renewable energy.
Xiong’an New Area is developing low-carbon strategies. At present, Xiong’an adopts green construction technology to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate the construction of an ecological and livable new city.
The main tunnel of the Xiongdong-Zanxi 220kV line project has been completed recently. This is the first long-term power transmission channel serving the Xiong’an New Area, with a total length of 16.8km.
Through optimizing the path and node layout, the whole construction progress has reduced the occupied land by more than 120 mu (19.77 acres) and avoided the falling of more than 3000 trees.
Advanced green and environment-friendly materials have been used in construction to reduce about 550 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
Xiong’an New Area will further optimize the energy structure, support resource conservation, and recycling, promote green and low-carbon production and lifestyles, conserve carbon sink space, and enhance carbon sink capacity.
Xiong’an develops carbon reduction products and improves its purchasing mechanism. The first batch of carbon reduction products are Baiyangdian Reed Carbon Fixation Ecological Product Project in Anxin county and the Roof Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation Project in Xiong’an- Beijing Intercity Railway Station, reducing about 28,700 tons of carbon dioxide emission.
Ecological Environment Bureau, together with the New Area Reform and Development Bureau of Xiong’an New Area, has promoted the carbon reduction products methodology and R&D for the Distributed Photovoltaic Project.
The development of forest carbon fixation products for the 2018 Autumn Afforestation Project and the development of reed carbon fixation products in Baiyangdian, Anxin county, have enriched varieties of carbon reduction production.
Also Read: Xiong’an New Area: A Green Smart Future City
In the future, Xiong’an New Area will promote methodological research on carbon reduction products such as pure electric heavy trucks, geothermal heating instead of fossil fuels, charging piles, etc., and develop carbon reduction products relying on the advantageous resources like forests, renewable energy, and green low-carbon buildings.
To realize the value conversion of ecological products, Xiong’an launches the carbon neutralization activities of the first batch of service enterprises, creates green financial derivatives of carbon reduction products, and improves the trading mode of carbon reduction products.
Xiong’an New Area possesses prerequisites for the large-scale development of green and zero-carbon demonstration areas with eco-priority.
Xiong’an New Area boasts favorable natural resources and economic and social conditions to implement comprehensive energy services.
At the beginning of its construction, Xiong’an New Area made an overall multi-energy plan with a complementation of alternative energies and efficient integration, which has great strategic significance for the supply of safe, stable, and clean power energy. Xiong’an New Area is going on a new path of comprehensive energy service.
In order to build a green and smart future city with high quality, Xiong’an New Area optimizes the energy structure, promotes the utilization of renewable energy, and integrates the use of digital smart technology in the field of comprehensive energy services.
For instance, BIPV (building-integrated photovoltaics) technology, efficient enhancement and heat exchange technology of geothermal energy, electric vehicles, charging piles, two-way charging, power storage technology, energy recovery, and management technology, among many other new technologies.
Setting up low-carbon and zero-carbon industrial parks, zero-carbon smart cities, zero-carbon energy cluster buildings, and zero-carbon energy bases is another way to provide integrated energy services.
With the energy system being transformed to be cleaner, low-carbon, highly efficient, and intelligent, comprehensive energy services will usher in new development opportunities and confront new challenges and requirements.
The rapid development of advanced information technologies, including cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, Mobile Internet, Artificial Intelligence, and blockchain technology” will break the scientific and technological barriers between different energy industries and provide richer technical means for the innovation of comprehensive energy service models and formats.
The cross-border integration of the Internet and conventional energies will promote various market entities to achieve offline resource integration and business engagement, jointly creating a comprehensive energy service ecosystem with “shared win-win cooperation”.
Against the backdrop of incorporating carbon peak and carbon neutrality into the overall layout of ecological civilization construction, relevant enterprises in Xiong’an New Area are carrying out comprehensive energy service projects and making innovations to integrate into the construction of a green and smart new city.
The local government, with all citizens, is making every effort to build Xiong’an New Area as a “model of national carbon neutrality.”
Xiong’an is leading by example to promote the “double carbon” work, which will have direct relevance for the whole world.
**The views expressed here in this article are the writers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the position of the institutions or staff.
