Shandong fuels green development

Wind turbines installed along Bohai Bay in East China's Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Shandong has embarked on a path of green, low-carbon and sustainable development as the province is ramping up efforts to promote its green transition.

Shandong is an important industrial base and the strategic fulcrum of economic development in northern China. The province's population and economic total both account for more than one-fifth of the northern region, while its total energy consumption and carbon emissions account for about one-tenth of the national total.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Shandong has unswervingly implemented the strategy of innovation-driven development, focusing on breakthroughs in key and core technologies.

Efforts have been made to speed up scientific and technological innovation and institutional innovation, promote the commercialization of scientific and technological advances, and foster new drivers of growth so that innovation will boost the province's economic development and green transition.

At present, Shandong has approved the construction of 21 provincial key laboratories for resource utilization, environment protection and ecological restoration, and five provincial technology innovation centers. It has allocated 108 million yuan ($15 million) to carry out major science and technology demonstration projects to help the country peak its carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

The province is promoting solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy, while maintaining its sustainable development progress.

The installed capacity of renewable energy in Shandong increased from 4.97 million kW in 2012 to 63.87 million kW in 2022, accounting for 35.9 percent of the total installed capacity, an increase of 29.1 percentage points.

The installed capacity of photovoltaic and biomass power generation in the province reached 37.15 million kW and 4.1 million kW, respectively, both ranking first in China.