What does a "zero-carbon scenic spot" look like? Come to Yangzhou Slender West Lake to see

The first snow in winter in Jiangsu, Yangzhou Slender West Lake is covered in silver. In recent years, Slender West Lake has explored the construction of an all-electrified carbon-neutral ecological scenic spot, and actively built a demonstration model of "zero-carbon scenic spot". In July 2023, the rooftop distributed photovoltaic power station built on a pilot basis in Slender West Lake will be officially put into use, which is expected to save more than 30,000 kWh of electricity per year.

The previously released White Paper on Carbon Emissions in the Slender West Lake Scenic Area (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") introduces the "zero-carbon" construction projects that have been carried out in the scenic spot and proposes the development and construction path of the "zero-carbon scenic spot" in the future. Ni Yayun, deputy director of the Engineering Management Department of the Slender West Lake Scenic Area Management Office, introduced that with the help of the construction of "zero-carbon scenic spots", the future scenic spots can reduce carbon emissions by about 3,500 tons a year, and accelerate the transformation of energy consumption in scenic spots to green, energy-saving and low-carbon directions by optimizing the energy system of scenic spots, implementing electric energy substitution and electrification transformation. At the same time, we will increase the publicity of zero-carbon fashion and guide tourists to develop the concept of environmentally friendly consumption and green and low-carbon tourism and travel.

Clean energy use is cleverly conceived, and energy consumption is green

On a sunny winter day, on the roof of the office area of the West Gate of Slender West Lake, 62 photovoltaic power generation modules sparkle on the dark gray tile eaves. "The electricity consumption of our office area is relatively large, although the layout area of this photovoltaic power generation project is not large, but it strictly implements the principle of not destroying the classical garden landscape, and supplies power through spontaneous self-use and surplus electricity grid mode to achieve energy saving, emission reduction, cost reduction and efficiency increase." Gu Huahao, deputy director of the Engineering Management Department of the Slender West Lake Scenic Area Management Office, said.

In addition to the photovoltaic power station on the roof, there are various forms of photovoltaic power generation systems such as photovoltaic umbrellas, photovoltaic chairs, and photovoltaic street lamps in the scenic spot, so that visitors can not only rest freely on the photovoltaic chairs under the photovoltaic umbrella, but also conveniently charge their mobile phones.

"In our children's science park, there are also photovoltaic smart garbage cans, with an average annual photovoltaic power generation of about 120 kilowatt hours, which can effectively compress daily garbage, link intelligent sanitation vehicles for cleaning and transportation, and reduce the frequency of sanitation vehicles." Gu Huahao introduced.

In the woods next to Wutingqiao Square, the photovoltaic carbon monitoring equipment is "invisible", which is alternately powered by solar mains to monitor the meteorological parameters, greenhouse gas concentrations and other indicators of the scenic spot in real time, which intuitively reflects the photovoltaic application effect of the scenic spot.

In addition to photovoltaic solar energy, the scenic spot has also implemented electrification transformation in various fields such as cruise ships and catering, and all hotel restaurants such as 1757 Food Neighborhood and Dianying Villa have adopted all-electric kitchen solutions, completely replacing traditional fossil fuel cooking with electricity. "Compared with traditional kitchens, the renovated all-electric kitchens can reduce energy consumption by 68%~77% and save 22%~44% of energy costs." Tang Qitong, director of the hydropower facilities class of the Slender West Lake Scenic Area Management Office, said.

Visualization of the "carbon footprint" of "zero-carbon" tourism routes

Relying on clean energy equipment, with the help of electronic screens, publicity signs and other media, and in conjunction with the power department, the Slender West Lake Scenic Area has developed a "zero-carbon" tourism route, combining high-tech with daily life, and promoting the concept of "zero-carbon" scenic spot and related knowledge such as "carbon footprint" and "carbon neutrality" to the general public and tourists.

"This route runs from the 1757 food neighborhood in the scenic spot to the Dongdaemun parking lot, and visitors can stroll along the way, not only to taste the fancy food cooked by the 'all-electric kitchen', but also to experience the green environmental protection and convenience of photovoltaic equipment such as photovoltaic umbrellas, photovoltaic street lights, and smart photovoltaic seats." Chen Meng, deputy director of the market and key customer service office of State Grid Yangzhou Power Supply Company, introduced.

In the 1757 Food Street, the "All-Electric Demonstration Block" on the sign is very eye-catching in black on a white background. There is also a promotional sign around the photovoltaic equipment to introduce the characteristics and operating parameters of the equipment. There are also signs around typical carbon sink plants to display the daily carbon sequestration and oxygen release data per unit leaf area of typical plants. Taking boxwood as an example, the carbon sequestration per unit leaf area was 7.14 grams, and the oxygen release per unit leaf area was 5.19 grams. In the parking lot of the scenic spot, there are not only 24 charging facilities, but also publicity display boards to promote the large-scale application of electric vehicles.

Mr. Zhang, a tourist from Suzhou, believes that this is a green and environmentally friendly direction, and he sees it for the first time, and he feels that it is more trendy, and it can also provide convenience, which is very good.

"We have developed a 'zero-carbon' tourism route, hoping to create a distinctive 'zero-carbon ecology + smart flexible + immersive interaction' city label, and build an all-electrified and carbon-neutral ecological scenic spot in Slender West Lake." Ni Yayun said.

The white paper points out that low-carbon tourism mainly includes two major aspects: low-carbon tourism consumption and tourism production. The construction of "zero-carbon scenic spots" has achieved remarkable results in promoting energy conservation and environmental protection, advocating civilized, healthy and green tourism, and promoting the stable development of China's low-carbon economy.

Build a digital platform with "zero-carbon" intelligent management

In order to achieve the quantitative management of "carbon neutrality", State Grid Yangzhou Power Supply Co., Ltd. and the Institute of Environmental Planning and Design of Nanjing University jointly developed a carbon emission monitoring system for the Slender West Lake Scenic Area, quantitatively assessed the carbon emissions and carbon sink capacity of the scenic spot, and built a digital platform for the Slender West Lake Carbon Neutrality Demonstration Scenic Spot. "The analysis of the quantitative results of these carbon sinks will provide a basis for the subsequent management of carbon assets in the scenic spot." Ni Yayun said.

"By installing data collection and transmission equipment such as smart meters and water meters, we can collect data on the total electricity consumption, water consumption and energy consumption of important energy-using equipment in the park." Ni Yayun introduced that with the centralized control and transformation of the central air-conditioning units in the scenic area and the access of equipment operation data, the successful construction of the remote load control capability of the scenic spot can realize the adjustable load resources of the scenic spot to participate in the demand response of the power grid, reduce the carbon emissions of the scenic spot, and at the same time, help the power grid peak shaving and valley filling, ensure the safe and stable operation of the power grid, effectively alleviate the contradiction between energy supply and demand, and improve social energy efficiency.

At present, users of Slender West Lake Scenic Area and related supporting facilities have formulated an implementation plan to participate in green electricity trading, and provide clean energy for buildings and facilities in the scenic spot through market-oriented direct purchase of green electricity, and 100% renewable energy power can be used in the scenic spot in the long term.

Previously, at the COP28 "China Corner" special event, the green and low-carbon development case of Yangzhou Slender West Lake was unveiled, from behavior demonstration to concept guidance, and the scenic spot was demonstrated, advocating tourists to participate in low-carbon tourism and low-carbon life, and spreading the development concept of green ecology to the world.