Zhejiang: Green Power Grid Empowers County-Level Practices for Carbon Peaking, Carbon Neutrality and Common Prosperity

By the banks of Qiandao Lake in the western part of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Chun’an County is steadily advancing a transformation-driven development powered by green energy. As a key practice area for State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company to serve low-carbon development and boost rural revitalization, Chun’an, relying on smart power grid and new energy technologies, has gradually become a vivid model of the development concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”.

In the overall layout of Hangzhou to accelerate green energy development and promote the clean and low-carbon transformation of energy, State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company has continuously optimized the power grid structure in the mountainous areas of western Zhejiang, enhanced regional power supply reliability and new energy access capacity, and provided crucial support for the county’s ecological protection and economic development.

Once remote villages that faced development bottlenecks—such as Hujiaping Village in Wangfu Township—have now become popular eco-tourism destinations. Villagers have achieved a significant increase in income by running homestays, promoting agricultural products and developing rural tourism. State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company has greatly improved power supply capacity and stability through the implementation of rural power grid upgrading projects. In Hujiaping Village, for instance, the transformer capacity has been expanded from 240 kVA (kilovolt-ampere) to 1600 kVA, effectively meeting the electricity demand of the village’s new tourism formats.

In promoting the green transformation of agriculture, State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company has actively supported the implementation of new low-carbon models such as “agriculture-solar complementary” and “aquaculture-solar complementary”. A photovoltaic power generation system was built on the roof of the greenhouses at Huyang Agricultural Edible Fungus Factory to realize “synergy between fungus cultivation and solar power generation”, saving nearly 10,000 yuan in electricity bills per month. Photovoltaic panels were installed above fish ponds to achieve “power generation on the upper layer and fish farming on the lower layer”, which not only reduces environmental load but also improves resource utilization efficiency. State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company has provided grid-connection services and technical support for these projects to ensure their safe and stable operation.

Digital technology also plays an important role in the energy transformation of mountain villages in western Zhejiang. Through the smart energy system, farmers can remotely control the irrigation, temperature and humidity adjustment, and fertilization operations of agricultural greenhouses. This technology has helped greenhouses save nearly 40% of water, increase fertilizer utilization rate by 30%, and achieve an annual per-mu income increase of about 10,000 yuan.

In addition, State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company has put into operation the province’s first “integrated PV-storage-charging” charging station and “PV-storage linkage” power station in mountain villages of western Zhejiang. These projects not only enhance the power grid’s peak-shaving capacity but also increase the consumption of clean energy by 25 million kWh (kilowatt-hours) annually, equivalent to reducing carbon emissions by approximately 9,000 tons.

Chun’an’s practice shows that through power grid upgrading, new energy application and the integration of digital technology, counties can promote ecological protection and economic development in a coordinated manner. State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company has incorporated the Chun’an experience into the overall framework of green power grid construction in Hangzhou, providing a replicable path for more rural areas to achieve carbon neutrality and common prosperity. (By Ren Maopan)