What do key industries rely on for energy conservation and carbon reduction?

Energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries have been promoted in an orderly manner, and the level of energy efficiency has been continuously improved

The mainland's industrial energy consumption accounts for about two-thirds of the country's total consumption. Steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemical, chemical, building materials and other industries are the main body of industrial energy consumption and emissions, and promoting the implementation of energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas will help accelerate the green transformation of the manufacturing industry and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system.

The theme of the second day of this year's National Energy Conservation Publicity Week (May 14) is "Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Actions of Enterprises in Key Industries". Today, the energy efficiency level of enterprises in key industries in mainland China continues to improve, and positive progress has been made in the research and development, promotion and application of advanced technologies for energy conservation and carbon reduction.

Remarkable results have been achieved in energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas

The petrochemical industry is a high-energy-consuming and high-emission industry. It is expected that the Tianwan nuclear power steam energy supply project, which will be officially supplied in June this year, has recently completed the joint purging and partial comprehensive test of the off-site industrial steam pipeline. After the completion of the project, it can provide 4.8 million tons of industrial steam for Lianyungang Petrochemical Industrial Base in Jiangsu Province every year, which is equivalent to reducing the burning of standard coal by 400,000 tons per year, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.07 million tons, sulfur dioxide by 184 tons, and nitrogen oxides by 263 tons, providing more environmental space and effectively supporting the transformation and upgrading of the local petrochemical industry.

This is a vivid embodiment of the green transformation of the petrochemical industry in the mainland, and it is also a typical epitome of energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas of the mainland.

Since the "14th Five-Year Plan", the petrochemical industry has implemented the concept of green development, the industrial structure has been continuously optimized, the production mode has initially achieved green transformation, the application scope of green and low-carbon technologies has been further expanded, the utilization efficiency of energy and resources has been improved, and the level of green manufacturing has been further improved. According to statistics, the energy consumption per unit product of the industry's green manufacturing benchmarking enterprises is 20% better than the industry average, the pollutant emission intensity is 30% lower, and the comprehensive utilization level of solid waste is at the world's advanced level. The unit energy consumption of key products such as oil refining, ethylene, synthetic ammonia, urea, monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate calcium carbide, chlor-alkali, soda ash, sulfuric acid, calcium carbide and so on has decreased significantly. In the key areas, the comprehensive utilization rate of phosphogypsum reached 50.4%, the comprehensive utilization rate of calcium carbide slag was 100%, the mercury consumption was reduced by more than 50%, and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were reduced by 30%.

It is worth mentioning that the central enterprises represented by PetroChina and Sinopec have actively carried out energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation and upgrading. In 2022, PetroChina implemented a total of 40 energy-saving technological transformation projects, saving 260,000 tons of standard coal. Sinochem has implemented a total of 209 process optimization and technological transformation projects, achieving an average annual carbon reduction of 1.36 million tons and energy savings of 380,000 tons of standard coal. A total of 67 energy-saving and carbon-reduction projects were implemented in CNOOC's refining and chemical sector, saving about 85,000 tons of standard coal throughout the year, and the comprehensive energy consumption of the chemical industry of China Energy Group decreased by 8.87% year-on-year.

Focusing on energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries, various localities are also making layouts. For example, Hubei Province has vigorously promoted the energy-saving transformation of existing projects, compared with the advanced level of energy efficiency, comprehensively used fiscal and financial policy tools, and promoted energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation with "one industry and one policy". According to the relevant person in charge of the Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, "in the past three years, Hubei Province has sought and arranged a total of 450 million yuan to support nearly 80 projects to complete energy-saving transformation, and 'Hubei Green Finance' has issued a total of 14.7 billion yuan of special loans, achieving a total financing of 154.4 billion yuan, effectively playing a supporting role in green finance." ”

Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, formulated and issued the "Action Plan for Promoting Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Key Areas with Strict Energy Efficiency Constraints", paying close attention to the "full coverage" of the work system, guidance services, policy support, factor guarantees, and supervision and management, solidly promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas, accelerating the overall improvement of energy efficiency, and providing strong support for industrial transformation and upgrading.

To promote energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas, in addition to the petrochemical industry, steel, building materials, nonferrous metals and other industries are also taking active actions. The iron and steel industry implements the "extreme energy efficiency" project, the building materials industry promotes the construction of "six zero" factories, the non-ferrous industry strives to improve energy efficiency, the chemical industry accelerates the development of new materials, high-end special chemicals and other strategic emerging industries, some key large and medium-sized enterprises have reached the world's advanced level of energy consumption and water consumption, cement, electrolytic aluminum, crystalline silicon, oil refining, ethylene and other products lead the world...... since the "14th Five-Year Plan", the energy efficiency of key industrial industries in mainland China has been greatly improved.

At the same time, energy conservation and carbon reduction in key areas have achieved remarkable results. Since the "14th Five-Year Plan", the mainland has completed a total of 2.4 billion square meters of energy-saving and carbon-reduction renovation of existing buildings, and accelerated the development of ultra-low energy consumption, near-zero energy consumption buildings and prefabricated buildings. The construction of a green and low-carbon transportation system has been accelerated, and the number of new energy vehicles has reached 20.41 million, ranking first in the world. The energy efficiency level of public institutions continued to improve, and the energy consumption per unit of building area and per capita comprehensive energy consumption remained decreasing. Widely carry out green and low-carbon social actions, and create energy-saving institutions, green families, green schools, green communities, green travel, green shopping malls, and green buildings.

Advanced energy-saving technologies play an important role

Advanced technology plays an important role in energy conservation and carbon reduction. By introducing advanced technology, energy consumption and carbon emissions can be effectively reduced.

Focusing on the concept of green design, the green building demonstration project of Guangzhou Financial City in Guangdong Province adopts technologies such as ultra-low energy consumption technology, high-efficiency equipment system and renewable energy utilization, and will become the first near-zero energy building in mainland China with a height of more than 150 meters. The project integrates digital intelligent construction throughout the whole process of design, construction, operation and maintenance, and independently develops a "dual carbon" management and control platform to achieve near-zero energy consumption construction and operation. These measures will help improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby supporting the realization of the "dual carbon" goal.

To promote the green transformation of the development mode, scientific and technological support is the key. Accelerating the R&D, promotion and application of advanced technologies for energy conservation and carbon reduction is an important means to improve the energy efficiency of enterprises and reduce carbon emissions, an important way to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and give birth to new quality productivity, and an important support for achieving high-quality development and promoting the comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society. Since the "14th Five-Year Plan", positive progress has been made in the research and development, promotion and application of advanced technologies for energy conservation and carbon reduction.

In recent years, the mainland's energy conservation and carbon reduction technology support policy system has been continuously improved. The National Development and Reform Commission has implemented the relevant requirements of the Energy Conservation Law and the "1+N" policy system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality, issued the "Catalogue for the Guidance of Industrial Structure Adjustment", "Catalogue for the Promotion of Green Technologies" and "Catalogue for the Guidance of Green and Low-carbon Transformation Industries", promoted the construction of green and low-carbon advanced technology demonstration projects, and improved supporting policies such as investment, prices, fiscal taxation and financial credit. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently issued the Measures for the Management of Special Investment in the Central Budget for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction, which stipulates that energy conservation and carbon reduction projects can receive investment subsidies from the central budget.

A major breakthrough has been made in energy-saving and carbon-reduction technologies. The mainland continues to enhance its green and low-carbon technology innovation capabilities, vigorously tackle key green technology problems, and accelerate the research and development, promotion and application of advanced technologies for energy conservation and carbon reduction. A number of forward-looking and strategic major national science and technology demonstration projects, such as clean and efficient utilization of coal, large-scale utilization of renewable energy, energy storage, carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage, have been successfully implemented. Major breakthroughs have been made in a number of key core technologies with independent intellectual property rights, such as photovoltaic modules, high-power wind turbines, 2,500 square meters of hydrogen-rich carbon circulating oxygen blast furnace, and immersion cooling technology.

Better combination of energy saving and carbon reduction and renewal

The executive meeting of the State Council recently deliberated and approved the "2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan" and the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Carbon Emission Dual Control System", emphasizing the need to focus on key areas to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction, and combine it with the expansion of effective investment, the renovation of old communities, equipment renewal and the trade-in of consumer goods, etc., to advocate a simple, moderate, green and low-carbon consumption mode, and better play the economic, social and ecological benefits of energy conservation and carbon reduction.

By accelerating the elimination of outdated and inefficient equipment, updating and upgrading to advanced equipment with high technology, high efficiency and high reliability, we will improve the level of energy efficiency and achieve the goal of energy conservation and carbon reduction.

In an interview with a reporter from China Development and Reform News, industry experts said that energy conservation and carbon reduction can be achieved through a combination of equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods. Equipment renewal means replacing old equipment with new equipment that is more energy efficient and has a lower carbon footprint, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Trade-in of consumer goods is a policy introduced by the government or enterprises to encourage consumers to recycle old products with higher energy consumption and higher carbon emissions, and then replace them with new products with lower energy consumption and low carbon emissions. This combination can promote the public to participate more actively in energy conservation and carbon reduction actions, and at the same time promote technological innovation and industrial upgrading to achieve the goal of sustainable development.

Talking about how energy conservation and carbon reduction are combined with equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods, Luo Zhiheng, chief economist of Guangdong Kai Securities, said that from the perspective of industrial transformation and upgrading and green economic development, the stock equipment of enterprises and residents has a lot of room for upgrading, promoting the continuous increase in the proportion of advanced production capacity, more high-quality durable consumer goods into residents' lives, and recycling waste resources, which is more beneficial to the present and long-term.

(China Development and Reform News reporter Bai Xue)

Source: China Economic Herald, China Development and Reform News