Shining example

For years, Baoding has been known as one of the country's most heavily polluted cities, due to its heavy-industry-driven economy. But the once-obsure city is now being called by another name: The Solar City.

Baoding, in Hebei province, has taken a lead in solar power development after its "Solar City" blueprint was implemented more than a year ago.

The city launched a solar energy development campaign in late 2006, boosting the solar-powered economy and upgrading urban infrastructure with sun-tech equipment.

"It's a golden opportunity for Baoding to alter its traditional industrial framework, when both China and the world are focusing on promoting renewable energy," says Yu Qian, Baoding's mayor.

With a 10-year history of sun-tech equipment manufacturing, Baoding expects to maintain its advantage and further strengthen solar energy development. "It's the most feasible option for the city to replace heavy industry and drive the growth of green energy," he says.

Because the country's energy conservation and emission control policy has drawn so much public attention in recent years, it is necessary for Baoding to alter its traditional image of a carbon-emitter, the mayor says.

According to the blueprint, in three to five years the city plans to invest 1.87 billion yuan to implement sun-tech equipment to its infrastructure. The city expects to save 430 million KW of electricity, equal 1.18 million tons of standard coal reduction. SO2 emissions are expected to be cut by 12,900 tons.

The city has already marked some remarkable changes from a year ago. Statistics show that in 2007, local renewable energy companies, especially solar energy bodies, contributed some 20.5 billion yuan to the economy, a year-on-year increase of 86.4 percent and accounting for 15.92 percent of the city's GDP.

More noticeable than the economic growth is the city's ongoing solar energy renovation to its urban infrastructure, such as traffic lights, urban parks illumination systems, overnight urban lights and residential buildings' heating supply.

As of the end of last year, in 50 percent of its urban public locations and 40 percent of living districts and tourist sites, solar power equipment had replaced the traditional electronic equipment to supply illumination and heating.

With an investment of 5 million yuan, solar battery traffic lights have added to more than 60 traffic junctions around the city.

The traffic light renovation alone has helped Baoding reduce more than 240 tons of SO2 emissions and 793 tons of CO2 emissions per year, according to Zou Feng, chief of the environmental protection bureau under the city's development and reform commission.

Early this year, the State Science and Technology Administration recommended Baoding as the only national solar energy utilization demonstrational city and the national renewable energy industrial base.

Still many questions are asked about how such a massive solar energy renovation can be implemented.

The mayor provides a simple answer.

"Just do it," he says. "We have placed solar power utilization as part of our most significant development programs."

Zou says the job's success relies on cooperation from different areas of the city.

Last May, local officials created a regulation to promote architectural energy conservation. New buildings in Baoding are bound to ensure at least a 65 percent energy-conservation ratio. Since then, land developers have started to use energy-saving equipment for illumination, water supply and heat supply systems.

Baoding has a long history of solar energy equipment manufacturing and technology development. In 1998, the country's largest solar battery producing base was placed in Baoding National Hi-tech Industrial Development Area.

Recently, Baoding-based Tianwei Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd, which owns the country's only integrative polysilicon solar energy equipment manufacturing line, cooperated with GT Solar, one of the world leading sun-tech suppliers, to build up a sun-tech R&D center in Baoding.

"More support on energy renovation will encourage higher technology development, which will lead to greater success in the energy campaign," Yu says.

(China Daily 03/24/2008 page10)