Zero-carbon parks drive Yancheng's sustainable growth

Innovative model spurs promotion of carbon reduction technologies

As the World Coastal Forum 2025 Conference is approaching, the host city, Yancheng in Jiangsu province, is in the spotlight.

The city, which is known for its marked progress in green and low-carbon development, is offering an innovative "Yancheng model" of Chinese modernization in which ecological conservation and technological innovation are closely intertwined.

Zero-carbon industrial parks play an instrumental role in the city's green development drive. One of them is Dafeng Port Zero-Carbon Industrial Park where solar panels glisten in the sunlight and the blades of wind turbines cut through the air, presenting a vivid picture of green development.

As a pilot zone for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in the province, the park has established a multi-energy complementary system comprising wind power, photovoltaics and hydrogen energy.

The park features the country's first full-process green electricity traceability system, which allows every kilowatt-hour of electricity to be "traceable in origin and destination".

By introducing advanced low-carbon technologies and meeting the carbon reduction needs of local businesses, the park provides practical application scenarios for low-carbon technologies while promoting the implementation and promotion of more carbon reduction technologies, said Gu Xiaofeng, an expert on low-carbon operations at the park.

At Dafeng Port Zero Carbon Industrial Park, industries such as steel manufacturing and papermaking are traditionally high-energy consumers.

Lianxin Iron and Steel plans to upgrade its 70-metric-ton-capacity electric arc furnace in the park to a 100-ton-capacity green energy-efficient electric furnace.

"The upgrade of the furnace alone will consume 500 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity and reduce carbon emissions by over 260,000 tons," Gu said.

After a batch of hydrogen production, storage, and usage projects come into operation in 2028, they will also provide green hydrogen to businesses in the park, lowering the carbon footprint of products and enhancing the ability of enterprises to cope with various international "green barriers".

Wang Kan, director of the peak carbon and carbon neutral policy research division at the National Energy Conservation Center, said: "Establishing a batch of zero-carbon parks can effectively guide traditional industries in exploring new deep decarbonization paths, promote their green transformation, and support the healthy and sustainable development of the once high-energy-consuming industries."

Developing intelligent models will help emerging industries reduce their carbon footprints, enhance competitiveness, and lead the green development of emerging industries from a high starting point, Wang said.

The park's carbon valley management center is setting a shining example. A large screen showing the Energy-Carbon Intelligent Management Platform updates various energy and carbon data of the park in real time.

The park established a company dedicated to developing and operating the platform, through which the park can provide customized carbon management services based on the export destinations of enterprises within the park, including carbon emissions verification, green electricity and green certificate acquisition, and carbon offsetting, said Wu Huilu, deputy director of the Administrative Committee of Dafeng Port Economic Development Zone.

The park will explore real-time prediction and scheduling of carbon emissions using artificial intelligence technology, enhancing the intelligent management level of the park, Wu added.

The Binhai Port Zero Carbon Industrial Park is another highlight of Yancheng's low-carbon industrial landscape.

In pursuit of clean energy, green industries, low-carbon facilities, intelligent management and international certification, the park is exploring a green development path. Currently, it has an installed capacity of 1.85 million kilowatts of new energy, with an annual grid electricity generation of 4.47 billion kWh, including 4.29 billion kWh from wind power and 180 million kWh from photovoltaic power.

Chinese green tech company Envision Group has invested heavily on a coastal wind power and energy storage integrated industrial base at the industrial park.

As a part of Envision's strategic move for its expansion of large megawatt offshore turbine models, the project, once fully operational, will be capable of producing 200 offshore wind turbine units and 2 gigawatt-hours of lithium iron phosphate energy storage products annually.

The Binhai industrial park also builds on the largest liquefied natural gas reserve base in the country — China National Offshore Oil Corporation's Yancheng Green Energy Port project.

The world's largest single-tank capacity LNG tanks are located in the Green Energy Port, with a total storage capacity of 2.5 million cubic meters across 10 tanks.

Once it is fully operational, its annual LNG processing capacity will reach 6 million tons. During the vaporization process, LNG releases a great deal of cold energy, and the industrial park promotes the comprehensive utilization of this unique resource.

The LNG Cold Energy Exchange Center project, the first of its kind in the country, is currently under construction. The first phase involves a total investment of 500 million yuan ($70.21 million) and covers an area of nearly 2.3 hectares.

By recovering and utilizing LNG cold energy, the exchange center, which aims to implement the gradient development of the cold energy released during the gasification process of LNG, is designed to achieve efficient energy conversion and use, supplying cold energy to freeze-dried food factories, quick-freezing cold storage, and cold chain logistics, while providing services for ice and snow amusement parks, data centers, and cold water aquaculture, among other sites that require low-temperature environments.

The Sheyang Port Zero-Carbon Industrial Park also boasts rich wind and solar power resources, which provide the park with a natural advantage for developing eco-friendly industries.

Sheyang's annual green electricity production capacity has reached 3.7 billion kWh, injecting tremendous momentum into the industrial park.

The zero-carbon concept is extending from production lines to everyday life.

In a 5-hectare zero-carbon residential community, photovoltaic panels can automatically track sunlight, and the solar storage and charging carports generate 2,700 kWh of electricity daily.

The photovoltaic curtain wall of the community's service center supplies 110,000 kWh of electricity annually, with its environmental benefit equivalent to planting 110,000 trees each year.

The 30-meter-long zero-carbon bus runs intelligently along a predetermined virtual track, powered by rooftop solar panels and charged with green electricity.

This "tech innovation parks plus scenario application" model is driving technological achievements from the laboratory to the production line.

Data show that in 2024, Yancheng attracted more than 5,000 national-level small and medium-sized enterprises, and added 504 national high-tech businesses and 502 provincial innovative and specialized companies. The high-tech industry contributed 53 percent of the city's total industrial output value of businesses above designated size.