Hubei’s Wufeng County Promotes Electric Tea Processing to Protect the Environment

Spring comes early for diligent tea farmers, and the fragrant aroma of pre-Qingming tea fills the air. Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County in Hubei Province is renowned as the “Home of Famous Chinese Tea” and one of China’s “Top 100 Tea-Producing Counties.” Its premium organic green teas enjoy an esteemed reputation both domestically and internationally, particularly the highly prized pre-Qingming tea, known for its superior quality. Each year, prior to the Qingming Festival, around 130,000 tea farmers work tirelessly day and night to harvest pre-Qingming tea from the county’s 221,000 mu (approximately 14,733 hectares) of tea plantations, despite its low yield and high market value.

In recent years, State Grid Yichang Electric Power Company’s Wufeng branch has actively implemented the county’s ecological development strategy, continuously promoting electrification in tea-processing enterprises. The electrification initiative has achieved full coverage among large-scale tea enterprises, substituting electricity for traditional firewood and reaching an annual electricity replacement of 3.0822 million kWh. This transition has saved approximately 20,000 cubic meters of firewood annually.

As of 2023, all 205 tea-processing enterprises (including small workshops) in the county have completed the shift from firewood to electricity, achieving county-wide coverage of electric tea processing. After fully implementing the “Electricity Instead of Firewood” initiative, the county now reduces deforestation by approximately 100,000 cubic meters per year and decreases carbon dioxide emissions by about 6,200 tons annually. Compared to traditional wood-burning methods, electric tea-processing machinery shortens production time by up to 80%.(By Fran)