Maoming is set to become the nation's first demonstration city for carbon-neutral villages, following the signing of a strategic cooperation framework agreement by the Maoming municipal government, Huaneng Renewables Corporation Limited, Huaneng Investment Management and the South China University of Technology (SCUT) on March 26.

The four partners will cooperate in the research and development of a carbon-neutral village - the first of its kind in China.

A strategic cooperation framework agreement is signed on March 26. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]

The carbon-neutral village concept aims to promote the development of low carbon energy sources and environmentally-friendly industry, finance and governance in rural areas through the innovation of low-carbon rural economic models, the construction of ecological governance systems and the application of low-carbon technologies, in order to build a new village which is revitalized in all ways.

According to the city's plan, the rural house renovation and "photovoltaic sunshine pavilion" project, which is scheduled to have an investment of 150 million yuan ($22.93 million), will be taken as a pilot for carbon-neutral villages.

The project integrates photovoltaic energy and the renovation of rural houses. It is not land-intensive, and can improve the environment, refine the structure of rural energy consumption, achieve energy conservation, and reduce emissions.

"There are more than 20 million rural houses in Guangdong province, which provide a huge amount of roof space with clear property rights. These are the best carriers of distributed roof photovoltaics," said Ye Hong, dean of the SCUT Institute of Rural Revitalization and Development.

With the advancement of the project, Huaneng companies will simultaneously develop large-scale new energy projects in Maoming, such as ground concentrated photovoltaic energy, wind power, and hydrogen energy. These are expected to attract a total investment of up to 40 billion yuan.