Shandong's Qihe pushes for net-zero with PV projects

Dezhou's Qihe county in Shandong province is ramping up green efforts in power sector, with efforts paying off in its economic development zone, according to local officials.

"Now, government units in the development zone are self-sufficient in terms of power demand in office space, thanks to the photovoltaic project in the parking lot," said Zhao Jun, director of the Comprehensive Management Department of the Shandong Qihe Economic Development Zone.

"Solar power can meet all the office electricity demand."

Qihe has been promoting green transition in the energy sector. As part of its push, the county is building its economic development zone a national development sample case.

The Qihe Economic Development Zone was declared a "Green Industrial Park" in Shandong for its green transition efforts.

In February, the park renovated and upgraded parking lots in its office areas, and added PV panels on parking sheds. The panels, spread over 864 square meters, have generated power of 170,000 kilowatt-hours.

Additionally, the park also launched a project to build more such parking lots along 13 roads. To date, four roadside parking lots with over 2,000 parking spaces have been built, with the solar power output from this sector standing at 1.4 million kWh.

Besides, the development zone has utilized a large amount of workshop roofs of settled companies in the park to promote distributed photovoltaic installation projects.

Such green efforts have been welcomed by companies, as these measures not only improve the appearance of the facilities, but also bring additional profits to companies.

According to the park, more green projects are now in the pipeline to help achieve the green energy development goal and build a net-zero park.

To date, 80,000 square meters in the park has been covered by photovoltaic power, with an installed capacity of 11 megawatts, the park said.

zhuangqiange@chinadaily.com.cn