Yucheng, Shandong: Electricity safeguards local life and nature, igniting ecological vitality

The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) was recently held in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, with the world focusing on how ecological protection and sustainable development can advance together, and on turning the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into action on the ground. For a county-level power supplier, that debate comes down to a practical question: can electricity help bring degraded land back to life? In Yucheng, a county in Shandong province, China, the answer has already taken root in the soil.

Yucheng's land was long a case in point: 60 years ago it lay barren and heavily salinized. Decades of comprehensive treatment have since brought about a triple transformation. The ecosystem has recovered, wildlife has returned, and the industries that depend on the land have grown.

In recent years, the State Grid Yucheng Power Supply Company has been the main force carrying that transformation forward, pairing a green power grid with service delivered directly in the fields. Three outcomes have followed at once: ecology restored, species recovering, incomes rising. Together they form a county-level answer to the question how power supply can serve biodiversity protection.

Saline-alkali soil is often referred to as the "incurable disease of the land", characterized by high soil salinity, low vegetation coverage, fragile ecosystems, and harsh habitats for flora and fauna, which have long hindered regional ecological restoration and agricultural development.

To tackle the challenge of "managing soil alkalization", the State Grid Yucheng Power Supply Company has leveraged the green power grid as its core support to fully empower comprehensive ecological restoration of saline-alkali soil and photovoltaic sand control and soil improvement projects, creating a green development model featuring "clean energy generation above the panels, saline-alkali soil improvement below the panels, and ecosystem restoration across the entire area".

The once vast, white desolate salt marshes are now dotted with photovoltaic panels, continuously delivering clean electricity. The soil fertility below the panels continues to improve, and vegetation flourishes, creating a new and livable habitat for native insects, migratory birds, and small terrestrial animals, revitalizing the silent saline-alkali wasteland with natural vitality.

Throughout the entire process of power grid construction, operation, and maintenance, the company adheres to the concept of ecological priority and implements a full-cycle eco-friendly construction model: scientifically optimizing the routing of power grid lines, actively avoiding native vegetation and wildlife habitats; meticulously controlling the construction process to minimize surface disturbance and ecological damage; regularly conducting ecological inspections of the lines, simultaneously monitoring the growth status of plants and animals along the route, and safeguarding regional biodiversity through green power grid construction.

In addition to laying a solid foundation for ecological energy, the State Grid Yucheng City Power Supply Company has been deeply involved in the fields and close to the front line of farming, delivering high-quality power services to the doorsteps of farmers and into their farmland plots.

For industries that enrich the people, such as characteristic planting after saline-alkali soil improvement, planting and breeding under the panels, and ecological breeding, power employees regularly carry out on-site volunteer services, proactively investigate hidden dangers in electrical equipment used for farmland irrigation, greenhouse planting and breeding, agricultural machinery operations, and agricultural product processing, provide free line maintenance, optimize power consumption plans, and accurately solve the electricity problems faced by farmers throughout the entire cycle of spring plowing, summer sowing, and autumn harvesting.

At the same time, they disseminate knowledge face-to-face about safe electricity use and green energy conservation, helping the steady development of ecological agriculture and green planting and breeding industries, so that the achievements of ecological restoration can be effectively transformed into people's livelihood benefits of increasing income and prosperity.

From barren salt marshes to ecological farming fields, from single power supply guarantee to multi-dimensional empowerment of "ecological protection + green energy + assisting farmers and benefiting the people", Yucheng Power Supply has implemented the global initiative of "Taking Action for Nature" at COP17 through subtle and steadfast grassroots actions.

Today, the improved salt marshes in Yucheng are lush with vegetation, home to birds and beasts, and thriving industries, truly realizing a virtuous cycle where energy development does not harm the ecology, ecological restoration drives industries, and electric power services empower people's livelihoods. This provides a replicable and scalable Chinese county-level electric power solution for global degraded land management, biodiversity conservation, and rural sustainable development.