“Starting from building an ecological chain among industrial enterprises and attracting related upstream and downstream industries through industrial chain investment, we gather many connected industries together to transform resource use from a consumption-based model to a conservation-based one,” said Wang Shengyang, Party Committee Member of the Hefei Circular Economy Demonstration Park, at the “Symposium on Advancing the ‘Dual Carbon’ Goals and Developing the Circular Economy to a New Height,” jointly hosted by the Anhui Circular Economy Research Institute and the Anhui Circular Economy Association on June 3. The park is shifting pollution control from end-of-pipe treatment to source prevention and whole-process control, ultimately achieving small loops among enterprises, medium loops within regions, and large loops between regions.

Developing the circular economy is an important way to promote green development and ensure national resource security, as well as a powerful approach to achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.

The development of the circular economy requires not only the efforts of enterprises and parks but also the promotion by social organizations. This is the purpose behind the Anhui Circular Economy Research Institute fully leveraging social organizations and jointly holding this symposium with the Anhui Circular Economy Association.

“In 2024, the average utilization rates of wind and photovoltaic power in the province reached 100% and 99.9%, respectively, higher than the national averages of 97.3% and 98%. The cumulative renewable energy generation reached 80.87 billion kilowatt-hours, which can indirectly replace about 32.77 million tons of coal consumption, equivalent to reducing approximately 62.26 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions,” introduced Li Wei, Deputy Director of the New Energy Division of the Anhui Provincial Energy Bureau.

Notably, by the end of the first quarter of this year, the province’s installed capacity of renewable energy reached 65.59 million kilowatts, accounting for 50.7% of the total power generation capacity. Among them, photovoltaic power accounted for 43.11 million kilowatts (14.42 million kilowatts centralized and 28.69 million distributed), wind power 8.99 million kilowatts, hydropower 6.19 million kilowatts, and biomass power 2.56 million kilowatts.

Looking ahead, the province will accelerate green and low-carbon development, speed up the construction of green manufacturing and service systems, deepen pilot projects for coordinated pollution reduction and carbon abatement innovation, launch the second batch of zero-carbon industrial parks, and fully promote the development of the circular economy.

Source: Anhui Daily