The photovoltaic modules installed on the rooftops reduce the electricity costs of businesses in the Yantai Huang-Bohai New Area. [Photo/Wechai account: ytkfqfb]

The Yantai Huang-Bohai New Area is making huge strides in advancing the transformation of green and low-carbon technology, utilizing green electricity - electricity produced from renewable energy sources - to drive the circular and low-carbon evolution of industrial production.

Leveraging rooftops spaces, over 10,000 photovoltaic modules have been installed at the international science and innovation center in the Bajiao Bay Central Innovation Zone within the area, generating about 1.7 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually and reducing electricity costs for businesses in the zone.

Zeng Boxiang, market development manager at YEDA Heat and Power Group, said that around 30 similar photovoltaic projects have been either completed or are currently under construction within the area. These projects collectively generate an average annual electricity output of about 24 million kWh, resulting in annual savings of 7,000 metric tons of standard coal and a corresponding reduction of 21,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Moreover, efforts to capture and reuse waste heat generated during product processing in factory workshops are underway. At Yantai Shinho Food Co Ltd, researchers have developed a heat recovery device designed to capture the substantial steam produced during wheat frying and apply it in subsequent brewing processes.

Furthermore, Wanhua Chemical Group has established an absorption heat pump within its industrial park to harness industrial waste heat, providing a clean heat source for an area of 10 million square meters.

In addition, the Yantai Huang-Bohai New Area is actively promoting industrial restructuring and transformation, with a focus on empowering technological innovation to guide enterprises towards innovative upgrades.

To date, the area has been granted approval for one provincial-level green park, eight provincial-level green factories, and three provincial-level green supply chain enterprises, leading Yantai in overall quantity.