State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power: Empowering Common Prosperity through Photovoltaics

As dusk fell over the surrounding mountains, the ancient village of Qingyun—nestled in the hills and waters of Xiaowangmiao Subdistrict, Fenghua District, Ningbo, Zhejiang—glowed in the warm golden hues of the setting sun. On the evening of April 11, the “Green Bud” volunteer team from State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power arrived in this historic village, carrying more than ten solar-powered street lamps. This visit marked another stop in their “Green Bud Green Energy Public Welfare Project,” an initiative designed to address the pressing issues of inadequate nighttime lighting and limited collective economic resources in remote mountain villages of Fenghua District by providing and installing solar-powered street lamps free of charge, bringing clean energy and warmth to rural nightscapes.

Qingyun Village, a nationally recognized traditional village with nearly a thousand years of history, was included in the third batch of China’s traditional village list. It boasts a vast number of well-preserved historic buildings, including traditional residences, ancestral halls, libraries, and bridges. Due to layout constraints in some alleyways, nighttime lighting has long been insufficient.

Carrying ladders through the village’s stone-paved alleys, the volunteer team drew the attention of local residents resting outdoors. “These lamps don’t cost electricity—just sunlight to shine!” explained team leader Du Liangliang while installing a fixture and sharing how the technology works. Elderly villagers squinted up in wonder at the photovoltaic panels mounted atop the lamp poles. Unlike conventional streetlights, solar-powered lamps require no complex cabling or construction. They charge during the day and illuminate at night, effectively addressing lighting shortages in mountainous areas while also saving the village collective on electricity costs. As the final screw clicked into place, a newly installed solar lamp lit up, casting a gentle glow through the twilight.

At every installation site, the volunteers never forget to set up their “New Energy Mini Classroom.” Technical topics such as how solar power works and household green electricity policies are explained through local dialect rhymes and hands-on demonstrations. Since the launch of the “Green Bud Green Energy Public Welfare Project,” the State Grid Zhejiang Green Bud volunteer team has visited 73 remote mountainous villages across five towns and subdistricts in Fenghua District. They have installed a total of 2,500 solar-powered street lamps and supported more than ten villages in developing collective photovoltaic projects—truly upgrading from simply “delivering light” to “planting ideas.”(By Zhou Wangjing)